


The Apprentice

by AcidAngel21



Series: Winter Obi-Wan [1]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy
Genre: Ahsoka Tano Needs a Hug, Alternate Universe, Amnesia, Anakin Fights Like Black Widow and nothing will convince me otherwise, Anakin Skywalker Needs a Hug, Anakin Skywalker is Not a Jedi, BAMF Ahsoka Tano, BAMF Obi-Wan Kenobi, BAMF Padmé Amidala, Brotherly Love, Canon-Typical Violence, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Everyone Gets A Hug, Everyone Needs A Hug, Family, For Both Star Wars and MCU, Force Bond (Star Wars), Force-Sensitive Padmé Amidala, Force-Sensitive Shmi Skywalker, Friendship, Gen, Guilty Qui-Gon, Human Disaster Anakin Skywalker, Human Disaster Obi-Wan Kenobi, Hurt Anakin Skywalker, Hurt Obi-Wan Kenobi, Hurt Qui-Gon Jinn, Hurt/Comfort, I'm Bad At Tagging, Identity Reveal, Jedi Council Shenanigans, Mandalorian Culture, Mando'a, Manipulative Sheev Palpatine, Obi-Wan Kenobi Has Issues, Obi-Wan Kenobi Needs a Hug, Padawan Ahsoka Tano, Past Abuse, Past Brainwashing, Protective Ahsoka Tano, Protective Anakin Skywalker, Protective Padmé Amidala, Qui-Gon Jinn Lives, Qui-Gon Jinn Needs a Hug, Shmi Saves (some) Clones, Shmi Skywalker Lives, Shmi Skywalker is Awesome, Shmi Skywalker is a Saint, Talking is good for you, That's Not How The Force Works, The Dark Side of the Force, Winter Soldier!Obi-Wan
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-06
Updated: 2020-01-13
Packaged: 2021-02-19 14:53:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 36,359
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22146055
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AcidAngel21/pseuds/AcidAngel21
Summary: Twenty one years ago, Jedi Padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi disappeared while on a mission with his Master, Qui-Gon Jinn. Qui-Gon and the Jedi Order thought he was dead, but Qui-Gon never forgot his lost apprentice. Now, trouble is stirring in the galaxy. Someone is trying to have Senator Padmé Amidala killed. One of the attempts leads Qui-Gon and his new padawan to the Abiik-Kemir family, ghosts who affect the Force in strange ways and never show their faces.Ben Abiik-Kemir doesn't remember much from Before. What he does is fractured and scattered and physically painful to try and recall. But he's managed, through some act of the Force to forge a family. Now that family will be tested. The Jedi Order is asking questions and they have a Republic Senator sheltering in the ship they call home with a Jedi Padawan watching them. Worse, he can't figure out why Master Jinn seems so familiar.
Relationships: Anakin Skywalker & Shmi Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi & Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi & Anakin Skywalker & Shmi Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi & Shmi Skywalker, Padmé Amidala & Ahsoka Tano, Qui-Gon Jinn & Obi-Wan Kenobi
Series: Winter Obi-Wan [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1593982
Comments: 103
Kudos: 341





	1. Clan and Coruscant

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Asylum](https://archiveofourown.org/works/4415864) by [Spongyllama](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spongyllama/pseuds/Spongyllama). 



> Please note that the second section in Ben's POV has flashes of Winter Soldier memories.

Qui-Gon had been expecting a lot of things when he’d accepted this assignment from the Council. He’d expected to test his padawan by giving her protection detail duty with Senator Amidala. He’d expected to have to chase down whoever is was that was trying to kill the senator himself. He’d expected to run into attempts on the senator’s life. He’d even expected to have to negotiate certain things with the Jedi to ensure his padawan was being given the appropriate amount of space to test her. What he hadn’t been expecting was to chase down his wayward padawan after she took a swan dive out of Senator Amidala’s bedroom window to chase after the droid that had just tried to kill her.

That, however, took a very low priority, when he joined the chase after the bounty hunter who owned the droid. She’d almost gotten away when a tall, almost gangly figure had locked an arm around her, then maneuvered to zap her unconscious with a (clearly) homemade pair of gauntlets. It was so quick that if he’d blinked, he would’ve missed it. But what really disturbed him was how the figure seemed to flicker in the Force. It was like seeing a sun through smoke, bright, blinding flashes breaking through shadow. And worse? As soon as the bounty hunter was unconscious, the bright flashes stopped, and they were completely invisible in the Force. A ghost.

“Vod!”

A man in a blank, black mask ran towards the figure, auburn hair reflecting in the dim light of Coruscant’s middle levels. Still, Qui-Gon pulled his Padawan back and went to go intercept them himself. The figure that’d taken down the bounty hunter was wearing a similar mask and the two had started a quiet discussion in Mando’a that Qui-Gon felt uncomfortable interrupting. The Force was unnaturally still around two of them.

“Hello?” His voice sounded too loud in his ears against the rushed, quiet words between the two of them.

They turned towards him and the first figure (Were they a young man, he still couldn’t get a solid read on them.) tilted their head, letting the man speak.

“Were you the one chasing this woman?” His voice was solid and there was a hint of a neat, Coruscanti accent underneath the Mandalorian.

“Yes; we believe she may be involved in some Jedi business.” Qui-Gon smoothed his own presence in the Force and slipped into the most neutral tone of voice he could manage. This was important somehow. He could feel it.

The first figure tilted their head again and the man shook his head minutely.

“She’s yours then. Come on. We’ve given your Buir enough to worry about for one evening.” He turned and started walking away, but the first figure hung back.

“Ori’vod,” he said (at least, Qui-Gon was relatively sure if the mask wasn't modulating his voice too much). The man turned back towards him and cocked his head.

Qui-Gon could almost feel a silent exchange and fought the temptation to raise an eyebrow at the apparent bond. He felt his padawan coming closer behind him, a reassuring warmth infusing the glassy-smooth texture of the Force over them. The two broke off and the second man seemed to sigh before coming back and levying up the unconscious bounty hunter. The first fiddled with a comm on his wrist before he looked back over towards Qui-Gon.

“What’d she do?” His voice was colored by an Outer Rim accent that the modulator couldn’t quite hide.

“I’m afraid that’s Jedi business.” His padawan broke in before he even had the chance to start speaking. Qui-Gon allowed himself a small sigh. Such were the fruits of trying to teach patience.

“Well, if the Jedi want to keep their business as theirs, maybe they shouldn’t let random bystanders catch beings of interest,” a near sigh at that from the second man.

“Why would a random bystander have stun gauntlets?”

“Self defense.”The second man actually did sigh at that.

“In any case-” the Force cut Qui-Gon off with a sudden shout and he pushed his padawan aside, leaping away from whatever it was.

The other two men jumped, the second surprisingly agile for carrying another being on his back. The first drew a blaster from somewhere Qui-Gon hadn’t seen and started firing at the shooter. Qui-Gon whirled around, lightsaber already blazing. There, right below the traffic lane was a man in Mandalorian armor with a jetpack. But it was all already too late. The mysterious shooter streaked away and left behind two confused Jedi and two mysterious figures.

“Haar’chak!”

“Silas.” The second man’s tone was long-suffering.

“Ori’vod.” The first’s was edged with anger, but still, the Force was silent around them.

“Who in the Sith Hells was that?!” His padawan’s anger was not, however, so invisible. It reminded Qui-Gon far too much of-no. He couldn’t go there. He had work to do.

“Perhaps you could tell us whatever it is somewhere less exposed to random bounty hunters?” Qui-Gon’s tone was bone dry and he sent a wave of _peace_ towards his padawan. Pushing at these two was only going to make this harder. The Force still felt so fragile too. The two had another silent exchange before Silas shrugged.

“Follow us.”

_Stay close, padawan._ Qui-Gon sent through their bond.

_Master, what are we doing? We should just take the bounty hunter and go._

_Can’t you feel the Force around them? Stretch out with your feelings. These two are a part of this somehow. Even if they weren’t, their affect on the Force would be reason enough to follow them._ He got the distinct impression of an eye roll from his padawan and couldn’t resist the urge to smile a little at the bitter memory of someone else doing the exact same thing.

///

Ben had a headache. While that honestly wasn’t an uncommon state of affairs, this particular kind of headache came from one thing: something he used to remember that had been taken out of his head. He could feel Anakin’s concern blooming in the back of his head, but he was distracted by the presence of the Jedi Master behind them. And the man was a Jedi Master. Ben didn’t know how he knew that. The young Togruta padawan with him didn’t set off any memory headaches. But, then, she probably wasn’t around when anything he’d remember about the Jedi was going on anyway. He was grateful for the mask. He wasn’t sure if he had the energy to deal with someone who knew him from Before at that moment. It’d been a nightmare getting onto Coruscant, another nightmare finding a safe house, and Anakin had been jittery the whole night until he’d finally agreed to go on a walk with him while Shmi had some time to herself to meditate.

Shmi wasn’t going to like them bringing a couple of Jedi around either. The bounty hunter wasn’t a problem. If they could handle the ones the Hutts kept sending after them, this one wouldn’t be any trouble at all. The Jedi, though. That was a different story. He’d been a little excessive in warning her about the Jedi’s tendencies when Anakin had been younger, it seemed. For his part, Anakin was so good at cloaking in the Force that he was nigh undetectable by pretty much anything or anyone when he wanted to be. Ben couldn’t shut off the cold, _asset_ , part of his brain that kept pinging off his adrenaline at the Jedi behind him. He could feel the kyber crystals in their ‘sabers. The bond between them that was lit up as they talked to each other. The Light suffusing the Force around them like fog. He was an exposed nerve. It hadn’t been this bad in a long time.

Coruscant itself felt like jagged edges, white-hot Light, bitter-scorching cold Dark, and an undercurrent of acidic, sour misery and resentment besides. It crawled on Ben’s spine and climbed up his throat. His skin tingled with every brush past of a passer-by. He wanted to clench his hand around his ‘saber hilt, just to feel the familiar bite of the metal into his hands, but it was far too dangerous with the Jedi there. He sunk deep into the Dark cloak around them, the glass texture of the Force within it smoothing over the raw edges of his Force presence. He felt Anakin’s desert-bright presence swirl in around his own, the cool Darkness of his cloak blending around the white-hot Light seamlessly. It was as familiar as the feeling of Ben’s ‘saber in his palms. Shmi’s grounded, solid presence reached out to the two of them as well and he could feel his heart slow and his mind calm down.

If Shmi and Anakin caught wind of any hands traveling towards ‘sabers or any other weapons, they’d be on the pair of Jedi like nexu; and these two didn’t deserve that no matter how bad of a memory headache the Master was giving Ben.

Ben directed Anakin through a series of twists and turns, looping around the level until he was sure nobody but the two Jedi was following them before letting him guide them back to the safehouse. He scanned the traffic, both foot and speeder, while cataloging everything they needed to avoid talking about in the back of his head. He knew that rumors about their attacks on the Zygerrians and the Hutts had made its way to Coruscant. He wasn’t, however, sure exactly how much they knew about him and his aliit. He knew they could stay hidden. That was always a given with the Force. They’d been ghosts for over a decade. Hiding was a comforting second skin.

Shmi greeted them at the door while discreetly running a tiny little scanner over the Jedi. She poked him through the Force before giving them both an embrace through their bond. He pretended not to notice Anakin keeping himself in between him and Shmi and the two Jedi. It seemed like the Jedi either did the same or really didn’t notice. But he got the feeling that the Master, at least, had. He plonked the (still) unconscious bounty hunter on the floor against the wall and put on the pair of binders Shmi had thrown his way.

_How heavy of a stun did you hit her with, Sen'ika?_ Shmi asked as she set out cups of some Alderaani tea they’d traded for earlier.

_Enough to knock her out. I think it was, like, five. Probably._

_Anakin_ Ben sighed.

_Come on! She’s a changeling. I’ve hit other changelings with twice as much and they were fine. Besides, would you rather I’d made a mess?_

_I think we’ve made a fine enough mess anyway._ Ben’s mind crunched over the empty space where the memories should be like broken glass. He could hear Shmi and Anakin wince.

_Still can’t reach?_ Anakin had angled himself just so between the Jedi Master, the padawan, and Ben. If Ben hadn’t trained him, he would’ve thought it was unconscious.

“Would you like some tea?” Shmi’s voice held the sour-sweet note of suspicion.

“If it wouldn’t be too much trouble, Ms?” The Master’s tone was deliberately neutral, and it set Ben’s teeth on edge to hear.

“Just Ejasa.” Shmi laid out the cups and they all sat on the floor around the little tea-stone.

“Thank you, Ejasa. Now. I’m Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn, and this is my padawan, Ahsoka Tano. We've a few questions for you.”

As soon as the name Qui-Gon Jinn was out of his mouth, a sharp, searing pain shot through Ben’s head like a blaster bolt. He barely managed to keep upright through it and he could feel Anakin holding him up on his right. He bit his tongue, copper sting of blood singing across it, to squelch down the noise between his teeth. What in the Sith _hells_ kind of memory was so important that it had this kind of a seal on it?!

“Ejasa, Silas, and Ben Abiik-Kemir.” He heard Shmi say. If he’d had the brain power he would’ve been proud of how rock solid her voice sounded.

“Mandalorian?” Tano spoke up for the first time since they’d gotten inside. Her voice held the same deliberate neutral tone as her master’s and it set his teeth the same way. That was an interesting combination given his current situation.

“Sort of." That was Anakin. His voice was rock solid as well.

Now there Ben really could muster up some pride. It had taken _years_ for Anakin to learn to control his ticks, longer to control his tells, and even longer to control his voice. For him to sound that solid with all the disturbance Ben felt himself purging into the Force underneath his cloak was nothing short of a major achievement. He felt a brush of exasperated fondness tinged with concern from his vod’ika. Shmi wasn’t far behind either. He really should be paying more attention. If he could just get his head to stop splitting apart for five seconds.

“I’ve never seen any Mandalorian masks quite like yours before.” Ben forced himself to look at Jinn. The man in question sipped at his tea, none the wiser to the turbulence going on between the three of them.

“They’re unique.” Anakin hedged. Badly. Ben needed to do something about that.

“More of a religious expression than anything else.” Shmi saved it.

“Interesting. And you’re all a family?”

“Aliit ori’shya tal’din.” Anakin quoted, voice dry as Tatooine

“I take that as a yes.” Jinn’s face was as politely neutral as his voice. Ben’s fingers itched for his ‘saber hilt again.

“How ‘d you do that thing with the bounty hunter?” Tano’s voice came.

“Years of training and good mechanical skills.”

“Yeah, but how’d you pin her like that? She blew through everyone else.”

“Electricity is really convincing.”

“Yes. About the bounty hunter. The Council is going to have some questions for her and you.” Jinn cut them off. Good. Ben didn’t know if he could survive the headache if those two got going.

“We’re not comfortable-”

“You wouldn’t have to go inside the Temple if that will be a problem. Given that this involves a senator, it’s more than likely that the Coruscant guard and Senate Security are going to want to talk to you anyway.” Jinn cut Shmi off.

The credit dropped and Shmi and Anakin were off to the races. Anakin with a barely concealed rage and Shmi with a fierce surge of protective anger, both of which surged bright-hot around Ben and each other like liquid metal. But it was Shmi who answered.

“And it’ll be no trouble at all?”

“I shouldn’t think so. My padawan and I will be more than willing to vouch for you should any issues arise.”

“You guys catching the hunter should give you some room anyway,” Tano’s words were slurred around fresh mouthful of tea.

“Right,” if Shmi’s voice had been any drier, she could’ve used it as a sponge.

“We’ll come. Provided there’ll be no trouble.” Ben said, finally able to get his own voice back under his control. Never had he been more grateful for the modulators in the mask.

“Of course. You have my word. Now, my padawan and I will take this young woman back to the Temple for some questions and we’ll comm you the details.” Jinn was brisk, proper. And every inch a Jedi. He was also a hole in Ben’s head, and he couldn’t figure out _why_.

///

Ejasa Abiik-Kemir was a blank slate in the Force. They had been standing in the Chancellor’s office with Senator Amidala and her staff (a surprise to Qui-Gon as well) for at least half an hour after he’d finished giving his report. Ejasa had been the only one of the three to show, claiming a previous engagement of some kind on Ben and Silas’s behalf. She was present, but her Force presence was so muted she was practically invisible. If she hadn’t been standing right in front of him, Qui-Gon wouldn’t have even known she was there. And that was the crux of it. That shouldn’t have been possible. It wasn’t a technique he’d ever heard of. It didn’t fit with what he’d experienced of the Sith, but it didn’t feel Light to him either.

Even more interesting was that Mace and Yoda didn’t seem to notice her invisible presence at all. Ahsoka had the previous night, and if a padawan only a year into training could notice that then _surely_ …But they hadn’t reacted at all. They’d glossed over and past her like she wasn’t. Even…Oh. Now that was interesting. And almost definitely the desired affect of whatever technique she was using. It was almost like a don’t-notice-me.

“For your own protection, Senator! This vote isn’t worth your safety. From what I’ve heard, Padawan Tano and these Abiik-Kemir guardians here will be more than sufficient to protect you on Naboo while Master Jinn and Knight Vos investigate this Jango Fett.”

Qui-Gon wasn’t happy about having to leave his padawan alone in such circumstances. She was only a year into her training, and a young teen as well. She wasn’t ready. But Mace had seen something and when Mace said something fell along a shatterpoint, anything else was irrelevant. Apparently. Abiik-Kemir seemed to have similar feelings.

“With all due respect, Alor, are you certain that a single apprentice is enough for something like this? We are capable, but if this is a Jedi issue, she might be at risk.” She wasn’t talking to the Chancellor. She was talking to Mace. If Qui-Gon hadn’t been intrigued before, he certainly was now.

Of course, it was the Chancellor who answered anyway.

“Of course it’ll be enough, Ms. Abiik-Kemir. I’m certain the Jedi Council are doing their best to ensure Senator Amidala’s safety and security.”

“I don’t like this idea of hiding. My staff and I can handle this until the vote. It’s imperative that I’m here when that happens!” The Senator’s presence had been tinged with anger since the meeting had begun, and she’d only gotten more irritated as time had gone on. It was layered under politicking and careful wording. But it appeared she’d run out of patience.

“Now Senator, what would Queen Jamillia say?”

“Padmé. This may allow us to catch Fett in the act. If you leave, we can set a trap with Dormé and the Guard to catch him,” Typho broke in before Padmé could respond.

“We’ve been through everything thoroughly. I promise, Senator; this will be over in time for the vote after the delay the Chancellor agreed to,” said Mace.

The Senator’s face went into a bland, agreeable expression. “Alright, Master Jedi, Chancellor. As long as I’m back on Coruscant in time for the vote on the Military Creation Act.”

“I’ll guarantee that myself, Senator,” Abiik-Kemir said.

With all of that settled, Qui-Gon took advantage of the bustle of the room to watch Abiik-Kemir and Mace and Yoda. They’d noticed her when she’d spoken and they’d seemed aware that she was there. But it seemed that they hadn’t noticed her deliberate banking of her own signature. He’d told the Council about the strange phenomenon that surrounded the Abiik-Kemirs in his report, but it’d gotten somewhat lost in the deluge of other information they’d been able to glean from Wessell. Kamino was the place to go.

He wasn’t looking forward to the trip. They’d assigned Quinlan Vos to assist him in the investigation. Qui-Gon liked Quinlan well enough. But the young knight was wrapped in memories that made Qui-Gon’s heart ache and his stomach sour on the best of days. At least a day in hyperspace and a few more to investigate Kamino, that was a lot of time to spend with a ghost. Still, he supposed it was far preferable to spending that time alone, worried for his padawan, and surrounded by a ghost anyway.

“Master Jinn,” Abiik-Kemir’s voice startled him out of his thoughts. A ghost indeed.

“Ms. Abiik-Kemir, what can I do for you?” He hoped his voice didn’t sound as tired as he thought it did.

“I wanted to make sure that this was alright.” The bustle of the room covered her voice, but there was _something_ in there. Some sort of worry.

“It is the will of the Force. I’m certain that Senator Amidala and my padawan will be perfectly safe in you and your family’s hands. They were quite capable last night.”

“One bounty hunter is different from a conspiracy, Master Jinn.”

“And if there is a conspiracy, then she and the Senator are far safer on Naboo than anywhere in the Inner Rim or the Core,” and Force, how far had the Council come that a conspiracy like this was a threat to them?

“Perhaps. But a cabur worries about those they protect.”

“She’s a Jedi Padawan. This is part of her journey,” he said. And it was. Even if it felt like history was hanging over Qui-Gon’s neck like a lightsaber.

///

Ben couldn’t remember ever having been in surroundings like 500 Republica without having some sort of mission. He had brief flashes of blood and screams in one, guards on the floor in another, the sensation of his throat closing but no picture in another. Later on, non-linear random assortments of places like this that were quicksand bogs of the dangerous parts of the Dark, the ones filled with hatred and all consuming rage. All of them were from some freedom or infiltrate-and-espionage mission he’d run with Shmi and later on (later on, surely) Anakin. That didn’t mean that made any sense to him, though. He wasn’t having a very good day in terms of how lucid his memory was, to be fair.

Shmi had kept the equivalent of a hand-hold with him through their bond all day. She was setting up the ship and making sure any signs of their, perhaps, less than strictly legal activities were swept away. They had almost decided to ghost out, but a very strong impression of _‘no, you will not be doing anything of the sort’_ had come through the Force. And these days, the only thing Ben was ever sure of were the Force and his aliit. So, stay they had. And they’d been strong-armed into this by the Chancellor and the Jedi Council. It wasn’t the worst situation they’d ever been in. But Ben was not at all happy with it, and Shmi was in the same boat. Anakin, on the other hand, had been strangely tight-lipped on the matter.

Something was wrong with this, but Ben couldn’t figure out what.

Senator Padmé Amidala was a very nice person, all things considered. Ben had never seen someone take an involuntary protective custody and detail with so much grace. He didn’t know why that was something he’d be able to make a comparison on, but that was normal for him too.

“So, what’s the plan, exactly?” She asked, eyes clocking his weapons with what looked like practiced ease. Interesting.

“Mr. Abiik-Kemir and I are going to take you down to the dock where they have their ship and meet up with the Jedi and the rest of his family. You guys take off, Dormé and I set a trap with the Guard for Jango Fett, and the Jedi investigate whatever conspiracy got him after you in the first place,” Typho said. His face was pinched.

Ben was concerned too. Mostly for this Dormé. His aliit was good at what they did. In fact, they were amongst the best. There wasn’t anybody in the area around Naboo who’d know them well enough to put her in any extra danger from their reputations. And they were hidden incredibly well, if he said so himself. The plan to capture Fett sounded like a good way to get Dormé killed. Ben had tried to raise that point before, but found his voice had abandoned him. It happened sometimes. This time felt more deliberate, though. More sinister. More pointed.

He stifled a sigh and straightened himself up. The senator turned to look at him. She was more present in the Force than any of the others and her emotions saturated it more strongly than everyone else’s too.

“Hello, I don’t believe we’ve been introduced. Senator Padmé Amidala.” Her voice was smooth and just as personable as he’d expect from a politician.

“Ben Abiik-Kemir. Good to meet you, Senator.” His Coruscanti accent was a lot more present than usual. Unfortunate.

She gave him a professional smile and nod, then. Turned to her staff.

“Jar Jar, thank you for taking over while I’m away.”

“Of course, Senator! Meesa honored to be representin’ the Naboo.” Ben wasn’t sure how to feel about the Gungan. He’d seen him almost knock over at least three very breakable things since he’d arrived. It seemed like he was even more of a walking disaster than Ben in the early years of his recovery. Padmé gave him a hug anyway. Ben was mildly concerned that he’d drop her somehow.

“Dormé, please be careful. And keep me updated with everything.”

“Of course, my lady.” Dormé’s eyes were bright and Ben looked down at the floor. He was sure he wasn’t meant to be here for this.

“Dormé.”

“It’s just. I’m worried for you, my lady. Please promise you’ll be careful.”

“Of course, Dormé! And I’ve got three guards and a Jedi protector. I’ll be safe.”

Ben looked up just in time for the tail end of a hug. He wondered what it was like when everything was normal. He’d found the Naboo custom of decoys very interesting, and to be a pretty smart strategy. But it must be an interesting job to get into. Not to mention how much time the decoys spent with the person they impersonated.

He got a flash of his hands gripped on his ‘saber and a person who looked like Padmé glaring up at him, ‘saber reflecting in their flint eyes. He shook it off. That was an early mission. The saber wasn’t scarlet, just a dull red. That was the only way he could really tell. The color of the blade.

“Alright, let’s go Mr. Abiik-Kemir,” Padmé said.

He nodded. Let’s go.

The speeder ride to the ship was as uneventful as it got in the traffic on planets like Coruscant. Their ship was resting in the dock and he felt Padmé’s apprehension crawling along his skin when she got a sight of it. The Buurenaar Cabur wasn’t much to look at, if Ben was being honest; but it was still home.

Shmi and Anakin were standing outside with Jinn and Tano. Ben could feel Shmi watching everything and taking in Jinn and his Jedi-ness. He felt Anakin bubbling away in a rapid fire stream of thoughts and ideas. Business as usual. Padmé carried her things and followed him as he walked the rest of the way to his aliit and their guest for the next few days. He felt her observing the two of them and a warm rush of recognition when she saw Jinn. That was right. Jinn had been one of the three Jedi that had helped free Naboo from the Trade Federation blockade about a decade ago. If Ben’s memory was right, one of them had died blowing up the control ship while Jinn and the other master had led the ground forces.

“Hello Master Jinn, Ahsoka.” The genuine warmth in her voice was a nice contrast to the stranded politeness she’d been giving. It was good to hear.

“Senator Amidala. I’m sorry for the inconvenience of all this.” Jinn’s voice was a lot more genuine too. That made Ben’s head hurt. He wasn’t sure if he was more annoyed or curious about what it was that was behind the block in his memory.

“It’s not your fault, Master Jedi. I’m sure it’ll be over soon with you working on it. And I’m happy to spend time with Ahsoka. We’ll make a politician out of her yet!”

“Oh, Force no,” Tano said, blue eyes light.

Ben sidled over to his aliit, making sure to stay in Typho and Jinn’s line of sight the whole time. The _asset_ part of his head was clicking away, disturbed by Jedi and security and them just standing there. He felt Shmi reach out and soothe over it, her solid presence grounding him in his own thoughts. Anakin tapped his wrist on the comm link and leaned into him a little bit. They could handle this. The Senator was at least polite and the Padawan seemed like she’d be less of a handful than Anakin had been at that age. All things considered, this was very manageable.

“Hello, I’m Padmé Amidala.” Ben snapped to attention in a split second. He felt Anakin withdraw. Oh dear, that could be a problem he hadn’t considered.

“Silas. It’s good to meet you, Senator.” Anakin’s voice was uncharacteristically shy and Ben could feel him squashing down the urge to fidget. Oh dear. He got a brush of warmth from Shmi. She seemed to have the same idea.

“Nice to meet you, Silas,” Padmé gave no indication that she’d noticed how shy he was acting, but she was a politician. They were known for their sabacc faces.

“Would you like me to show you to your quarters, Senator?” Shmi swooped in to the rescue.

“Yes, thank you Ms. Abiik-Kemir,” Padmé said as she started up the ramp.

Shmi took her bags and led her in saying, “Oh, just Ejasa. Abiik-Kemir is a bit of a mouthful for spending a few days…”

Ben couldn’t resist the urge to poke his vod’ika over the bond. He got the Force equivalent of a flushed glare back and he smirked under his mask. Oh, Anakin.

“Be careful, my padawan. Listen to the Force. Let it ground you and guide you. Stay with the Senator as closely as you can. And be brave.”

“Yes, Master Jinn. I’ve got this. I won’t let you down, I promise. You too, Captain Typho.” Tano was exuding earnest energy and her eyes were wide with honesty and nerves. Ben felt a pang of empathy that he wasn’t sure was completely his.

_Are we ready for this?_ He asked.

_We’re as ready for this as we are for anything._ Shmi’s voice came over their bond as grim as anything. Ben hoped they weren’t going to have to test that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mando’a Translations:
> 
> Vod-Brother/Sibling  
> Buir-Parent  
> Ori’vod-Older Brother/Sibling  
> Haar’chak-Damn it  
> Aliit-Family  
> Vod’ika-Little Brother/Little Sibling  
> Aliit ori’shya tal’din-Mandalorian saying Family is More Than Blood  
> Alor-Leader  
> Cabur-Guardian
> 
> Thanks to Spongeyllama for the inspiration for this fic.
> 
> I am a huge sucker for Post Winter Soldier family fluff fics. I am also a huge sucker for Anakin Skywalker Doesn’t Murder Everyone fics. After reading Asylum by Spongyllama, I got inspired. What would Attack of the Clones look like if Obi-Wan had gotten taken and Winter Soldiered by Sidious, somehow escaped, and was discovered by a certain Skywalker family on Tatooine? It was complete crack, of course. But then my hand slipped and this came out. This is…probably total nonsense. Just a little bit of a heads up: Obi-Wan goes by Ben in this fic, and Shmi and Anakin are Ejasa and Silas respectively when they’re in front go People Whomst Are Not Family. I’m sorry if the Mando’a or any of the Mandalorian stuff is wrong. I’m not at all familiar with Legends and only really know Clone Wars, the movies, and the Mandalorian. Please let me know if you see any glaring mistakes and I’ll do my best to fix them.
> 
> (Edit: When I initially wrote this, I used Fialleril's Amatakka and Tatooine Slave Culture. At the time, I thought it was fine as long as I gave credit. However, I no longer think it's appropriate to continue to keep those in the story without having asked to use them first.)


	2. Brothers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which there are talks to be had, clones to be found, and discoveries that some may rather have not seen.

Anakin wasn’t hiding. He was just working on something important. He wasn’t unnerved by having people who weren't aliit or runners on the ship. This compressor system was very important. He checked his shields to see if he was leaking into the bond. Within their little family bond, the Force felt like the normal balance of supernova-hot warmth and glacial-burning cold of the Light and the Dark. The mix swirled on his skin and across his vision in lazy spirals of golden and dark purple fog.If he looked he could see the Living Force breathing around them all. He looked to where he knew Ben was and felt the slight turbulence that was always his ori’vod on a Bad day. Maybe the compressor could be ignored for another week.

He got to his feet and wiped his hands off on a piece of threadbare terrycloth. The parts lay forgotten as he wandered over to Ben’s room. It had been a bit of a debate, whether or not they could afford this. But the Force had been clear, this had to happen. Anakin had felt like he drowning the night before. It had all been so loud and so much and his mind had been split in a million different directions. He still felt _raw_ underneath his shields. Buir had looked drawn and he could feel the same rawness through the bond. Ben, though. Anakin was never sure how much of what happened with Ben was the Force, and how much was whatever had been done to him Before. He was suffering, and Anakin’s head and chest ached hearing what his memories sounded like.

He stopped right outside Ben’s door, seeing the Light nebula like pattern that was Padawan Tano’s Force presence. He hadn’t known where Buir had put her. He fidgeted a little before he knocked on Ben’s door. It was weird having a Jedi in such close quarters, even if she was still just a padawan. The door opened and Ben stood, eyes glazed half over like he was still almost in meditation.

“Sorry, I didn’t know you were-”

“I wasn’t,” Ben’s voice was dull. Anakin reached out and recoiled in an instant. Ben’s head was _aching_.

“Is that from this morning?” Anakin reached in again and tried to draw the pain out.

“I’m not certain. I think so. Time feels a bit…you know. Jinn was there this morning. Right?”

“Yeah. Jinn was there and Amidala and Tano are with us now. We’re in hyperspace on the way to Naboo.”

“I’ve been trying to figure out if I knew him. I think I did, but I can’t reach it…” Ben trailed off, eyes going even glassier than before. Anakin felt a sharp spike of pain.

“Hey! Maybe you should just stop. For now. You know? Don’t you remember the most when you’re not trying anyway?” He tried to keep his voice light. It was getting worse by the minute. Ben hadn’t had a day this bad in over a year. Anakin wanted to reach out, comfort him somehow. But on a day like this, violent triggers were a hair’s breadth from being set off.

“Maybe. It’s important, though. The Force feels like it’s waiting for me to figure it out.” Ben was going back over to his bed and Anakin followed him in.

“Springing the trap?” Anakin sat on the floor next to his bed.

“Something like that; I suppose. We have to be missing something. We’ve been being herded towards Coruscant for the better part of year, right? And now we’ve a Republic Senator and a Jedi aboard.”

“They’re not so bad, even if having a Jedi around isn’t exactly great for us.”

“Anakin. If she feels the Dark, she’ll be required to tell them. If she knows any of us are Force Users, she’ll be required to tell them. The Jedi don’t have the monopoly where we’re from, but around here? They’re the only ones that have any kind of sway. If they say we have to stay, the Chancellor will back them up and we won’t be able to get out,” Ben said, Coruscanti accent getting more and more pronounced with every word.

“Yeah. Not great. But we’ve dealt with worse. Come on, are you really going to tell me that Nal Hutta wasn’t worse? Any of the times we’ve gone. Because I will tell you the whole story again if you don’t remember,” Anakin slipped his mask off as he spoke, moving slow enough for Ben to track every move. Ben gave him a half hearted glare.

“I wish Nal Hutta was behind the same memory blocks as these. At least then I could forget you resting the entire success of the mission on C karking 3P0.”

“Hey, he did the job, didn’t he? Besides, I wasn’t getting anywhere near Ziro if I didn’t have to. That di’kut is a nightmare in the Force.”

“They’re all nightmares in the Force.”

“Eh, so we avoid Nal Hutta then. Not exactly a hardship,” Anakin slipped a stun disk out from the concealed holder on his wrist and started messing with it. If he could increase the capacity some on the discharger…

“We’ve never been to Naboo. They’re the democracy people, right?”

“I’m honestly not sure. That sounds right, but look at the Chancellor,” Ben said, eyebrows furrowed in the way that meant a memory was corrupted somehow.

“Wait. The Chancellor is from the same place as Senator Amidala? But he’s. And She’s…” Anakin had a lot of words for how he felt about the Chancellors policies on, to quote the man himself, ‘unfortunate uncompensated laborers’.

“Well I suppose every planet is due a rotten fruit or two. I mean, look at you!”

“I could test this on you, you know. You’d never see me coming.” The Force had lightened, the dense clouds of dark purples and blues balanced out with small streamers of light pastels and golds. Anakin felt the pressure from Ben’s memory headache receding and pulled back a bit. Ben tapped his foot with his own and sent a pulse of thanks.

“In your dreams, vod’ika.”

///

Kamino was wet. That was Qui-Gon’s first impression. It was stormy and the oceans thrashed below, winds whipping them into a frenzy. Quinlan had refused to touch anything after an unpleasant encounter with a door, and that left Qui-Gon doing the vast majority of the talking. Taun We had been agreeable so far, but it had challenged Qui-Gon’s not inconsiderable control over his emotions and expressions when she’d introduced him to the clones. Clones! She spoke about them like they were droids. Like they were products to be packaged and sold! His stomach churned and images from his unfortunate adventure on Tatooine made the rounds through his head over and over despite his attempts to meditate. Quinlan had been bleeding barely concealed disgust.

They hadn’t even gotten the saving grace of being able to find Fett. He’d been spotted on a security holocam leaving Coruscant the night off the attack. But he’d cleared out of Kamino before they’d gotten there. The room had felt Dark in a way Qui-Gon hadn’t expected from someone who was supposed to be Force Null. Add to that Quinlan saying that there had been a child around the room, and Qui-Gon had almost reached the limit of things his mind could digest in a day.

He sat on the floor of the lounge in their ship in a position his legs hadn’t been young enough for, even with the Force, in years. He’d given up trying to meditate and had moved on to trying to catalogue everything. He’d already made his report to the Council. They were still waiting on Quinlan’s side of things; and if Fett’s quarters hadn’t shaken him at all, Qui-Gon was going to have to lean on the Force for whatever it was that had made the infamous tracker go as pale as himself. As it stood, he’d been ordered to get more familiar with the clones and the Kaminoans and try to find out what exactly Syfo-Dias had been doing when he’d commissioned them.

“Qui-Gon?” Quinlan had appeared. Qui-Gon looked him over and his stomach dropped at how disturbed he looked. His face was pale, eyes were bloodshot and swollen. His hands shook and he was soaked like he’d been standing outside since the incident with the door.

“Quinlan, what happened?” He got up, ignoring the screeching protest of his knees.

“Qui-Gon. Master Jinn. He was here.” Quinlan’s voice was shattered and the haunted aura that surrounded him swallowed Qui-Gon in a rush of arctic air. Ice crawled up Qui-Gon’s skin.

“Who was here, Quinlan,” his voice was far flatter and colder then he’d meant for it to be. Quinlan shook his head, looking anywhere but in Qui-Gon’s eyes.

“It wasn’t the door. I found this ancient med-bay when I was walking the facility. I knew it was a bad idea to touch anything in there. But, I had to. It felt like the whole room was drawing me into it. I touched this thing, it looked like one of those morgue tables and-” he cut off, voice catching in his throat. The ice had sunk itself deep into Qui-Gon’s gut. He couldn’t possibly be talking about who it sounded like. There was no way they’d have missed that, even on a planet as remote as this one.

“There was blood and a lot of medical equipment. And there was this holocron, this Dark holocron that was just _open_ and it was _spewing_ this river of every rotten thing in the Force. And Obi-Wan was _there_. I saw his face! I heard his voice! He was just repeating all of these things. Stupid stuff that we heard in the Temple as younglings. Yoda-isms, stuff that you don’t even think about until it just slips out one day. He was _there_. And then they did something-I didn’t see it; I didn’t _want_ to see it. But he just stopped. Everything stopped. Everything but the holocron. He-he wasn’t there anymore. He was gone and he was _there_ and he was _gone_ and he was _here_!” Quinlan broke off and collapsed into the only nearby chair, eyes shining and shattered all over again.

Qui-Gon wasn’t so lucky. He hit the floor again, red hot re-opened wound replacing the creeping ice that had frozen his entire body.

Twenty one years he’d thought Obi-Wan Kenobi dead. He’d thought for twenty-one years that he’d died on that miserable Outer Rim planet that Qui-Gon’d had no right to drag him to in the first place only a year into his apprenticeship. That had to be what happened. Quinlan had to be wrong. He had to be seeing someone who looked like Obi-Wan. But the Force sang its horrific truth.His padawan. The padawan he’d rejected. The padawan he’d hurt. The padawan who he’d come to warm up to more than he thought was possible after Xanatos, hadn’t died on that Force damned planet. He hadn’t been dead when Qui-Gon had finally stopped looking and gone back to Coruscant. He’d been taken to some planet in the middle of nowhere and been used in some kind of Dark-Sider experiment that had killed him. He was abandoned and alone, and he’d died the same way.

///

Naboo was wet. That was Anakin’s first impression. Some would think that eleven years off of a desert planet would make him less shocked to see water everywhere. But no. The lake that Padmé had brought them to was huge and seemed to meet the setting sun as it expanded into the horizon. The Force was so alive too, bright greens and jewel tones coloring everything. There were living things kriffing everywhere, including spiders crawling all over his work helmet. Carnivorous birds sat at the side of the lake, swooping and diving for things that he could only just feel in the Force.

The house intimidated him a bit. For all that he’d been around grandeur, most of the time that was a facade hiding the necrotic underbelly of whatever it was he was trying to get to during whatever work he was there for. This house, Varykino. This house, this estate really, had none of that. And Anakin didn’t know what to make of that if he was honest. He hadn’t spent all that much time inside. He’d volunteered to take outside guard and made a point of ignoring Ben’s light hearted poking. He was gracious like that.

He rolled his shoulders and kept half an eye on the sky. Really, he’d feel pretty much anything coming before he could actually see it. But they weren’t the only ones who knew how to hide. Padawan Tano’s nebula-Light signature was coming closer. She was walking silently, breathing controlled, shields locked tight. None of that was enough. She’d started this game on the ship and he was actually a little impressed. For someone whose life hadn’t required any of the stealth skills he’d been raised on, she was surprisingly subtle and sneaky. She still couldn’t hold a candle to his demon of an ori’vod on training mode. He shifted a little and made sure to check himself for any sign that would give away that he’d heard her.

As soon as she was out in the open on the balcony he was standing on he spoke.

“Hey, Tano.”

“Damn!”

He rolled his eyes, and shook his head. Classic. He remembered Ben doing that to him. Finally he got to repay the experience to someone else.

“How do you always know? I’m one of the best in my age group at the Temple!” She sat on the railing at the edge of the balcony. “You’re not even Force Sensitive!”

Anakin almost broke his throat holding in the snort at that. “I was raised in a barn,” he said, deadpan.

“No. Just on a starship.” Anakin thought he did a great job not jumping at his Buir’s sudden appearance. The reigning champion of ghosting.

“The Senator says she wants all of us at dinner. As a social thing.” His Buir’s desert-like Force presence was dotted with vigilance and the nerves that all of them had been feeling with the new people around.

But she was worried about this. He sent her a brush of affection-concern, triple checking that it was below the cloak that was hiding them from Padawan Tano. She gave a minute shrug and rubbed his back over the scar from the first run he’d been allowed on solo as they walked towards the door behind Tano. That wasn’t good. She only ever did that when she was really worried about something. He tilted his head at her and she shook her head again, sighing. He paused and checked to see how far ahead of them Tano was. After a few seconds he decided to just risk it.

“Buir, what’s wrong?”

“It’s probably nothing Sen'ika.” Not for the first time, Anakin wished that they could have conversations like this somewhere private enough that he could see her face. “It’s just a feeling; you know the one. This is important, but I can’t tell why.”

“So we’ve just got to go through with it then,” he tilted his head again, like maybe he might be able to see her eyes if he got the angle just right. He’d done that since the first time they’d put the masks on.

“We’re going to be okay. What I saw-whatever the Force was trying to tell us, tell me. I’m not feeling like this is going to be bad, Buir.”

She hugged him and brought his head down onto her shoulder like when he was young. “No, no, ad’ika. Not bad. There’s a change coming, and it’s centered around what we’re doing here. We’ve been hiding for so long that the idea of that changing seems like the idea of leaving Tatooine did once. And that was such a blessing. I’m just worried about how this change is going to happen.”

He felt her presence around his and just stood in it. They were made of fire and sand. Here they were on a planet with so much water and life, the Force filled with so much gold and green it hurt to look at. Yet, inside they were still made of heat and dust. They enormity of it all hit him in the chest like a durasteel weight and he had to pull back into his core.

It felt like choking.

It felt like blindness.

He pulled back from her and looked at the blank mask over her face. He had to say something. But the Force felt like something wild all of the sudden and he couldn’t speak past the beating wings of dragonflies in his throat.

He settled for opening up enough to send her as much of an impression of it all as he could without words and squeezing her tight before he followed her inside.

///

Qui-Gon had sat in while Quinlan gave his report to the Council. He was numb. He was the ice that had been trying to consume him whole earlier. The Council hadn’t had much to say about Obi-Wan’s fate. It had been over twenty years, after all. He’d seen Yoda’s ears droop and Mace’s lips thin. But to be realistic, what were they meant to do? A padawan who had, in their eyes, been troubled, over twenty years dead, and the only thing different was the manner of his death. And even that meant nothing, because they already knew the Sith had returned ten years ago! Quinlan himself had kept a gloved hand pressed against the wall of their ship until they’d had to leave for a meeting with some of the clones that’d been scheduled for early morning planet time. Qui-Gon had tried to meditate, to detach himself somehow. But he didn’t know how to push through the fact that these people had killed his padawan. For a Sith Lord. And there was nothing they could do for him.

Qui-Gon had pushed through a number of things that ran the range from the depths of awful to a mild inconvenience. He’d survived Xanatos’s Fall. He’d survived any number of scarring, traumatizing missions. He’d survived the first time that he thought Obi-Wan died. He’d survived Yoda’s unending pushing for him to take a new padawan after Obi-Wan. He’d survived the deaths of Masters and Knights that seemed to come so much more frequently with every passing day. He’d survived the fear and the worry of finally taking another chance and taking on Ahsoka. He could survive this. He knew he could. It was how he was going to survive looking Taun We in the face and talking to the clones (who had done nothing but be made) without wanting to tear the place apart looking for any remnant of his old padawan that was proving elusive.

He knew that he shouldn’t have been so attached after so short a time. In a way it was that Obi-Wan had died that had made that attachment so much more pronounced. With Xanatos, it had been a deep betrayal. A ‘saber wound in the back that had scarred over and healed with years of separation. And even though he was meant to consider his old padawan dead, he never had. And he knew, in the back of his head, that he was still alive out there. Somewhere. But with Obi-Wan, he had just died. And that had been all Qui-Gon’s fault for putting him in that position. The guilt had lain in the back of his mind. Lain in his heart and festered. It wasn’t very becoming of a near sixty year old Jedi Master. But to know that he’d abandoned someone he’d been meant to teach and care for and protect to be tortured. To be used as a test subject. To die. The guilt was hollowing him out in a way that not even the Force could help.

He drew deeply on the Force anyway, clinging to the tiny little lights of the clones, Quinlan’s banked bonfire warmth, the flickers of life from the raging ocean below. It wasn’t enough. It would have to be. At the very least it was a good thing Ahsoka wasn’t here. He didn’t even want to think about how badly his slippage would affect her, or Force forbid, reflect on her.

He squared his shoulders, burying the grief and the guilt as deeply into the Force as he could reach, and put on the Jedi Master mask. It was time to get to know the men who’d been made to fight the war Syfo-Dias had seen.

He walked in, Quinlan behind him, and they were greeted by Taun We again.

“Good morning, Master Jedi. The clones that were selected are already waiting in a briefing room to speak to you. They’re good stock. Despite an aesthetic defect on one of them, these clones have some of the best ratings in our educational program. I assure you, we hold every unit to a very high standard.”

Qui-Gon didn’t want to go through with whatever deal the Kaminoans were expecting. Looking behind him, he was certain Quinlan felt the same. They followed We through the sterile white halls until they reached some sort of conference room. She ushered the two of them inside and Qui-Gon had to take a breath.

Four men stood at perfect attention. Each had the same face as the man he’d been chasing across the galaxy. Each was dressed in shiny new, pure white plastoid armor with a helmet held under the left arm. From without, all but one looked exactly the same, with the only difference on the fourth being white blond hair. From within, it was another matter entirely. He’d seen it the day before. But to see up close how different each Force signature was. It was completely unique. These were unique men with unique minds and lives and the Force almost shouted with the truth of that in the abomination of the forced singular identity they were broken into. It was the singular most beautiful and ugliest thing he’d ever seen in his life. He wanted to cry.

“Good morning,” he greeted instead.

“Good morning, sir.” Said the man furthest to the left. He had been the one who’d taken all of Qui-Gon and Quinlan in, holding back from the immediate rampant curiosity of one of the others, the analytical sweep of the other, and the militant expectancy of the blond.

Quinlan distracted Taun We like they’d agreed upon and within a few minutes, Qui-Gon was alone with the four men.

“I’m Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn. Might I ask who you all are?”

“CC-2224, CT-7567, CT-7794, and CT-3421, sir.” CC-2224 answered, pointing to each man in turn.

“Do you know why you’re here?” Qui-Gon didn’t. He couldn’t fathom how Syfo-Dias could’ve seen this as a service to the Force.

“To serve the Republic and to protect the Jedi, sir,” CT-7567 said, upright, the undercurrents of what Qui-Gon recognized as the beginnings of a duty-made pride in his voice. He’d sounded like that too, once. Master, no, Count Dooku had demanded much of him when he’d sounded like that.

“With respect, sir, is this an inspection?” CT-7794 asked, earning himself a side-eye from CC-2224.

“Something like that. I’m more interested in what the four of you know that what your combat skills are.” That prompted a series of well hidden confused glances at each other, followed by what appeared to be a silent agreement.

“What would you like to know, sir?” Asked CC-2224.

///

The Force was a major distraction. Anakin was soaking in the familial bond and trying his best to pretend like the Force hadn’t set his mind on fire. Again. For the second time in as many days. While also playing ‘eat while still using your mask to hide your face and making sure no one can see anything’. It was an old favorite that he could play by rote. But it was still interesting to see the reactions. Or, it would’ve been interesting if he could take his eyes off of the the wild, primitive beauty of the swirls and cells of the Force in front of his eyes and the storm of it all in his soul. He kept checking and re-checking his shields and the cloak and all the layers around his mind.

He was aware that he was clinging to Ben’s rigid, ordered, riptide presence like a youngling and that he was doing the same to Buir. He was also aware that he was going to be at least a little embarrassed at how all over the place he was, but he couldn’t let go without feeling like he was floating away. Fortunately, it seemed like neither of them minded anchoring him to himself too much for the time being. So he could cling and he could eat and he could listen to Ben spar with Padmé and Tano.

“Perhaps, Senator. I’ve found that at a certain point, some people will only listen to a sufficient application of force.”

“But isn’t it worth trying to talk to them? I agree with self defense, but isn’t it better to at least provide the option for peace if it’s at all possible?”

The food in Anakin’s mouth tasted like ash, and he knew that wasn’t coming from him.

“For some people, the only way they’ll take peace is if they’re dominating everything and everyone else. People like that won’t stop for morals or rank or even for appearance after a certain point. They’ll just keep pillaging and plundering until somebody decides to fight back.”

Anakin felt a ping. It was small; but he’d been trained better than to ignore a pinging matter how distracted he was at the time. He clicked over his comm readout to the HUD in his mask.

“We need to go. We need to go, right now.” He stood up as he spoke and checked through his weapons. They hadn’t been on Naboo long enough to unpack anything important, so they could just leave. They had, at max, five minutes before whoever had tripped one of his silent alarms had reached them. And the Force said they weren’t there to be friendly. He dropped the sit-rep through the bond and rushed over to Tano and Padmé.

“One of my alarms tripped and the sensor says they’re not friendly. I’m sorry Padmé, but we have to get out now if we want to stand any chance at getting out without a fight.”

Her bonfire signature roared into a wildfire that burned in her eyes. “Where do you suggest we go?”

“We have any number of safehouses on most of the planets along the Triellus from here. We’ll be safer if they have no idea where we stop.” Ben said, vibroblades already out.

“And what’s the plan when they chase after us?” Tano asked, hand locked around her ‘saber

“We shoot at them until we’re in hyperspace,” Anakin said, herding everyone towards the Buurenaar Cabur with Buir in front clearing every corner with a blaster and Ben bringing up the rear, vibroblades in a ready stance.

“I’m not just going to stand by and let this slide! Someone sent an assassin to my home!” Padmé had one of Ben’s blasters in her hands and she was glaring back at Anakin. He saw the supernova in her eyes.

“Fine, but we need to control contact. This place has too many angles, and it’s too exposed to space bombardment if they want to go that route. It was only safe while we were hidden. We control the clash, we control the outcome,” Ben’s voice was in asset mode and Anakin could feel the cold, clinical assessment patterns pick up though the bond.

The assassin was getting closer and Anakin could see the eddies and wild storm cells of the Force churning. They weren’t going to be able to get out before the assassin arrived. By silent agreement, Shmi and Ben took Padmé and Tano ahead and Anakin hung back. He checked his gauntlets one more time and ran over his weapons again. He felt the assassin’s black hole presence, a cold that tried to eat into the Dark cloak that hung around Anakin’s shoulders. Great. Another Force user. And a Dark Sider, which meant potential Force lightning. By the Force, Anakin was tired of electrocution.

He drew the cloak tighter around him and breathed out the fire of his presence, melting it as far into the Force and the room around him as he could.

The lights went out.

He stretched all of his senses, the Force showing him the entire room and the hallway beyond.

A door somewhere inside the house opened.

He melted into the shadow near the doorway and pulled out a mini flash-bang.

Footsteps came down the hallway, Dark around them like a thunderhead.

His heart beat in his mouth, sour metal tang of adrenaline coating his tongue.

The footsteps reached the doorway and Anakin exploded into action. The flash bang hit the floor and the assassin yelped and stumbled back a step, blinded by the magnesium bright flash of light. They tried to get stable, but it was too late. He grabbed their wrist, twisted and pulled them into his shoulder, body twisting to throw them as the blaster in their hand hit the floor.

They flipped over his head, Force powering the movement in a bolt of ice cold lightning through their thunderhead presence. He let go as they flipped and he went low, putting a small _push_ behind his legs as he tried to sweep their feet from under them just as they landed.

They went down with the hard _crack_ of bone on rock and a muffled curse as he shot towards them. He slammed a stunner disc on the hand that had been reaching for a vibroblade, charge lighting up the darkness blue.

They yelled and swung their left fist wildly as they tried to get to their feet, still not able to see him in the Force, though he could feel them looking.

He needed to end this.

He took a deep breath reached out to the Force one more time.

He jumped right behind them and rammed the contacts on his gauntlets into the sides of their neck. The charges went off, blue light of arcing power running through.

They went down, the scent of ozone following them all the way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mando’a Translations
> 
> Aliit-Family  
> Ori’vod-Older Brother/Older Sibling  
> Di’kut-Idiot  
> Vod’ika-Little Brother/Little Sibling  
> Buir-Parent  
> Ad’ika-Little One used as a term of affection from parent to child
> 
> Apparently this turned into a torture Qui-Gon session. Sorry, Qui-Gon. But Quinlan made an appearance. That’s nice. He surprised me with that little vision of Obi-Wan there. I hadn’t planned on that at all, but I have now appeased the Star Wars fanfic gods’ demands for angst and sadness. This is why we can’t have nice things.


	3. The Things Padawans See

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ahsoka figures something out, Qui-Gon hears a truth, and Ahsoka, Padmé, and the Abiik-Kemirs have an adventure.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry about the notes, guys. I don't know if it's me or ao3.

Meditation was an exercise in irritation. Ahsoka had tried sitting meditation, standing meditation, moving mediation, all the mediations. Not a one had worked. She could almost hear Master Jinn’s dry quip about trying ‘watering the plants, my dear padawan’ in the back of her head and she sighed. She hadn’t done anything on this mission. Master Jinn had not-so-subtly implied that she should try to learn more about the Abiik-Kemirs while she was guarding Padmé and so far it felt like she’d failed on both ends. She flushed with the irritation, which only made the flush worse for the shame of it. No matter how many times she heard it, she could never seem to level out her anger like she was supposed to. Even if she was a new padawan, she was supposed to be better than this! It’d been a year already!

Silas had come onto the ship amid a cloud of Darkness that she couldn’t place with anyone and had disappeared into what she thought might be his room. Padmé had taken another session of staring into a mug full of caf for answers. Ejasa had vanished into the cockpit and had yet to resurface. And Ben had collapsed into a seat the second he was sure everyone was safe like a puppet whose strings had been cut. And that was where she’d stayed. In the common room. With Ben. Who she hadn’t even talked to once since they’d left Coruscant.

Kriff it. She couldn’t deal with the silence anymore.

“Do you want some caf? Or something?”

His head shot up when she spoke and she got a vague impression of confusion through the Force.

“No thank you. That’s quite all right.” It was so strange. His accent was so similar to the accents of so many beings she’d grown up around.

“I was just going to get something. If, you know-”

“That’s alright. I hardly think anyone will mind you using the café.”

“I know. It’s just-” she didn’t know what she wanted to ask. How smoothly they all seemed to operate. How close together they all were. It felt like she and Padmé were stepping into something incredibly personal and private.

She was so tired of that feeling.

She knew how much Master Plo and Master Yoda had pushed for her. And she was so grateful. And Master Jinn was legendary after Naboo. He was a good teacher and he was so _patient_. But sometimes it felt like he forgot she was even there. He hadn’t taken a padawan in a long time. Everybody knew that. And whenever he forgot, it felt like the only reason she was there was because of Master Plo and Master Yoda; even though he’d chosen her.

“Can I help?” She just wanted something to do. Something good to do.

“Could you bring me some water when you get your caf?” He sounded unsure.

“No problem. I’ve got it.” It looked like she was off to the café anyway. She wished her Master was here. If only for someone to talk to about the Dark that had surrounded the assassin.

Padmé had abandoned the café and Ahsoka went through the motions for the caf and the water by rote. It was stupid. She was a Jedi. She needed to be able to be alone! She was good enough for a solo mission; she had to push through this.

She jumped when Ben drifted into the kitchen. She hadn’t even heard a footstep. She hadn’t even felt him coming through the Force or in her montrals. Creepy.

“I’m sorry. I should be asking you if you’re alright. That sort of thing. It’s not really something to be brushed off, is it?” He asked, head tilted. The light reflected strangely off his mask.

“I’m fine. I didn’t even see the guy, and Senator Amidala and your brother are both alright, so it’s all good.” She was proud of how even and neutral her voice sounded. Hours of practice for that.

“Alright. It seemed like the thing to do, I suppose.” He sat on on of the rickety little chairs and she half expected it to collapse under him.

“You guys made it look so easy.” She slid his water over to him and sat as lightly as she could on one of the other chairs that looked a little more trustworthy.

Barely there bitterness colored his words. “We’ve been doing work like this for a long time. Experience tends to make things better.”

“Yeah, but you barely even needed to talk!”

“We’re used to each other. It’d be stranger if we needed to talk after all this time, I think.” He leaned back on the chair. It squeaked. Loudly.

“Still. Where are we going?”

“I believe we’re heading for Llanic as a stopover to get anyone off of our trail. Then I think Ejasa said something about Andooweel.”

Ahsoka almost choked on her caf. Master Jinn had told her about Llanic. Namely, that it was not a place for ‘polite company’.

“I know. We’re not planning on leaving the ship. Just making it look like we did. It is a hive of scum and villainy, after all.” She could hear a laugh wanting to come out in his voice.

“No better place to disappear?” That sounded like the right reason.

“No better place to disappear,” he said.

She was caught off guard by rabid curiosity. Safehouses dotted all over the Outer Rim. They never showed their faces. They moved around each other like old masters and padawans did at the temple, the really close ones. Master Jinn said they’d been forced into this the same way as the Jedi: the Chancellor. She’d heard about a group of vigilantes that operated in the Outer Rim in some Temple gossip not long ago. The Force felt so strange around them, too. Master Jinn had said it felt like glass, but Ahsoka felt like that wasn’t right. It was only glassy when she was close to one of them. Far away it felt kind of like trying to see through dirty glass or transparisteel. They were blurry figures and their Force presences felt like an idea or a dream, far away from reality and her senses. She wondered if maybe they were really were Force Users. She thought she would’ve sensed that, but maybe that was what they were relying on.

The picture felt a little less fuzzy and Ahsoka needed to talk to her Master right this second.

///

The talk with the men had been illuminating. Even better, it had given Qui-Gon something to focus on. Regardless of whatever else happened, it was clear that they couldn’t leave these men here. They had to figure out a way to get them some sort of freedom, some sort of protection. The Kaminoans had no respect for life they hadn’t created from what Quinlan had seen, so how much less respect would they have for life that they didn’t even consider ‘alive’ at all? Qui-Gon already had a list forming in the back of his head of people who could help get the men their rights, places to live. The more he thought about it, the more things came to mind that needed to happen. And they were still going to have to try to find Fett on top of it all. But the temporary stress would be a small price to pay to give those people he’d talked to their freedom; of that he was certain.

They’d gone back to Fett’s quarters on Quinlan’s request. The tracker was going over everything, touching seemingly random parts of the room. Qui-Gon kept half an eye on the door and half an eye on Quinlan while he composed the report and plan of action in his head.

He’d almost gotten to potential jobs for the men when Quinlan suddenly jumped up.

“I’ve got him! The son of a Hutt's going to Geonosis!” His face was clearer than it’d been since he’d seen the vision.

“Geonosis? What could possibly be on Geonosis?”

“I don’t know but he was sitting in this chair when he got the call. Sounded real urgent too.”

“Then I’ll go to Geonosis. You stay here and see what else you can find. Try to get another meeting with some of the men, and see if you can get back to that med-bay. We owe him that much,” Qui-Gon said, halfway to the door before he even started talking. Quinlan’s face hardened.

“Believe me, I don’t intend to leave before I know exactly what they did. To both.”

Qui-Gon felt like he should say something about revenge not being the Jedi way; but in the face of the Kaminoans’ treatment of the clones alone, it felt like a hollow sentiment. So he just nodded and did his best impression of a Jedi who wasn’t at all in a great hurry through the halls back to the landing pad their ship was on.

The comm was already lit up with a call when he got back. His breath seized when he saw it was Ahsoka’s frequency and he pulled the Light Living Force tight around him before he answered the call.

“Master Jinn! I was just about to leave a message!” Her eyes were bright and she looked exactly like she had when she left. He let the relief and contentment flow over him.

“What is it, Ahsoka? Have you found something?” This face meant she’d figured out something she thought was big.

“You’ve heard the rumors about the vigilante group that’s been messing with the Zygerrians and the Hutts, right? Mando, impossible feats, freeing slaves and blowing up spice, all that stuff, right? What if the Abiik-Kemirs are part of that, or know who is? They work together like they do stuff like this all the time! Like being on the run from bounty hunters and assassins and stuff are all normal. And Ben said that they’ve been doing work like this for a long time! You should see how good they are at sneaking around too. Ejasa just disappears like she isn’t even real sometimes, it’s crazy! I know that group is supposed to be a ghost story, but Master, what if we found them?” The words came out in an excited, high speed babble, her eyes bright with determination and confidence.

“What happened that made you think of that?” Something wasn’t settling quite right.

“We had a, um, incident with an assassin at the lakehouse we were staying at on Naboo. It’s all fine, Padmé, um, Senator Amidala and I didn’t even see them. One of the Abiik-Kemirs took care of it then let the local police handle them. Everyone’s fine.”

Something sharp was in Qui-Gon’s chest. “Alright, Padawan. Where are you now?”

“We stopped in space over Llanic while Ejasa and Silas do something to make it look like we’re staying there, and then we’re going to one of their safehouses. That’s the other thing, Master. Ben said they have safe houses all along the Triellus!”

It was another test of Qui-Gon’s facial control when the word ‘Llanic’ came out of her mouth.

“And you’re not going on planet,” he couldn’t help but ask.

“No, Master. Ben said they’re just making it look like we did.”

“Alright. Be careful how much stock you put in rumors, Ahsoka. Assuming anything about people based on something as mercurial and unreliable as word of mouth can be a dangerous thing. But it may be possible that they’re involved in one of the underground movements out there. There are a lot of people in the Outer Rim fighting against the Hutts and their empire. Trust your feelings; root yourself in the Force. It’ll show you the truth, one way or the other,” he said, trying to follow his own advice. The Force felt like it was trying to guide them to some conclusion, but Qui-Gon couldn’t quite see what.

“Yes, Master. Anything else?”

“We’ve found evidence that Fett has gone to Geonosis; so I’ll be in hyperspace for a time. If anything happens, call Master Koon, alright?”

“Okay, Master,” she said. Her eyes were a little brighter at the mention of Plo. Qui-Gon wasn’t unconvinced that Plo secretly considered Ahsoka his daughter, and the idea was too adorable to let die.

“Good work, Padawan.”

“Thank you, Master. See you soon!”

Qui-Gon sat back after the comm dropped and let himself wonder. What were the odds that a group of freedom fighters from the Outer Rim or Hutt Space would get strong-armed into protecting a Republic senator? The Force truly did work in mysterious ways.

///

“How’s it going?” Padmé’s voice brought Ahsoka out of the surface level meditation she’d been attempting.

“It’s fine, but are you okay? That was close.”

“I’m fine. Honestly, I’m angrier that they sent someone to my home than I am that someone tried to kill me.”

“I’m sorry. I can’t even imagine what that’s like.”

Sometimes Ahsoka wondered what a life like Padmé’s was like. When Ahsoka had been taking her initiate Modern Republic Politics course, Padmé had been her advisor. It’d been so foreign to see pictures of her family on the walls, little tchotchkes on her desk and the little tables, evidence of attachment and possession displayed so easily. She’d been warm and helpful, and she’d stayed in contact to help Ahsoka with her other political courses. She’d thrown a tiny tea party just for the three of them and Master Plo when Master Jinn had taken her on as a padawan.

“It’ll all get worked out eventually. I have to be back on Coruscant in another four days for the vote on the MCA. So either way, we’ll be back soon,” Padmé said.

“Aren’t you afraid at all?” Ahsoka gripped her knees.

“I don’t want to die, and I’m afraid for my family. But this is important. I refuse to back down or be intimidated away from doing the right thing. My people trust me to make decisions in their best interest and to safeguard them in the Republic. My duty is to the people, and I’ll do what I have to to be worthy of that trust.”

“You sound kind of like some of the masters at the temple.”

Padmé laughed a little. “Maybe we have more in common than the Jedi like to admit.”

“I think I have a choice like that,” Ahsoka’s voice came out so much smaller than she wanted it to.

“How so?”

“We’re supposed to hide until we go back to Coruscant for the vote; but Master Jinn just called and said he’s going to Geonosis. I know you don’t know the Force, but I feel like it’s telling me that I have to go there. I don’t know why.”

“I may not know the Force, but I do know gut feelings. You already know I didn’t like the idea of going into hiding and letting somebody else handle the danger. If the Force is telling you that you need to go to Geonosis, then I’m not going to let you go alone. I don’t think the Abiik-Kemirs would just let us go off without them either.”

“Absolutely not.” Ejasa’s voice made them both jump.

“Ejasa, I’m sorry. I know you guys are doing everything you can to keep Senator Amidala safe and that we just spent a ton of time making sure we can’t be followed. I know it doesn’t sound right, but I-we have to go to Geonosis,” Ahsoka said, stumbling to her feet.

Ejasa sighed and Ahsoka got the strangest feeling like she was being read inside out.

“I have a very bad feeling about all of this. But, you’re right. It feels like we’re being pushed that way, one way or another.”

Ejasa’s words fell and it felt like something final clicked into place.

///

If there was an area in space that Qui-Gon hadn’t expected to be again, it was the place in the Arkanis sector that housed Tatooine. But alas, that was where Geonosis was. So that was where he’d gone.The planet was much the same as Tatooine: dry, sandy, deadly hot during the day, lethally cold at night, and unfriendly to anything or anyone that even smelled like they could be Republic. All told, the Force was an interesting thing on Geonosis. There was someone Dark here, that much was certain. But what was more interesting was the background sort of hum the natives made. Qui-Gon made a note in the back of his mind to meditate on it later, because it was fascinating.

To the matter at hand, the surface scan he’d conducted had turned up Fett’s ship outside of some sort of facility. Qui-Gon himself had landed with as much stealth as he could muster and crept his way towards the Dark presence. It was a good bet that whatever was going on, that would be at the center of it. What he hadn’t expected to find was a droid production factory. Thousands upon thousands of B1s stretching across thousands and thousands of meters of conveyer belts. An entire army that set an icy cold mass in Qui-Gon’s chest. He remembered all too well the destruction those things had caused on Naboo.

He wound his way through the twisting passageways of the facility towards the Dark, sensing someone somewhere else who was altogether too much like the clones not to be Fett.

“Is Amidala dead? I will not sign the treaty until her head is on my desk,” Nute Gunray’s voice drifted towards Qui-Gon. He ducked into the shadows and peered out as the shuffle of feet came down the hall.

“Rest assured, Viceroy; steps have already been taken to ensure her death. I am a man of my word.” Dooku’s voice was sharp stab in the gut.

Qui-Gon barely even registered the comment about the battle droids through the wave of, ‘Force, not another one. Why would he do such a thing?’. Qui-Gon drew the Force as deep as he could and forced himself past it. There was no time for betrayal. He snuck behind them, darting from shadow to shadow, until they reached a conference room. From his vantage point, Qui-Gon could see his former mentor sitting at the head of the table with Gunray, Haako, San Hill, Wat Tambor, Shu Mai, and more than a few Geonosians. The icy feeling was back, crawling its way up Qui-Gon’s spine.

“Thousands more systems will pledge their allegiance with your support,” Dooku said.

“This is treason. What sort of insurance can you give us, Dooku, that this won’t end with all of us dead?” Shu Mai said.

“Treason or not, the Techno Union has pledged their support.”

“The Banking Clan has also pledged their support.”

“Shu Mai, with the droid army the Geonosians have provided, we are stronger than the Republic. Even with the Jedi, they will be forced to respect the Confederacy as a sovereign government,” Dooku’s voice carried the same smooth tones as they always did when he was negotiating and it made Qui-Gon’s chest _ache_.

He decided he’d heard enough.

He ghosted through the halls towards where he’d come in. He felt the humming Force presences of the natives around him, and a vague warning of danger through the Force, but there was nothing for it. He’d almost made it out when the humming presences swarmed. They herded him through the halls as he ducked and weaved through the twisted labyrinth of passages. But with far less fanfare than he’d have liked, he’d been painted into a corner. He activated the distress beacon he’d paired with Quinlan and hid it in a wall before he tried to get around one of the smaller swarms that was coming for him.

The smaller swarm turned out to be tens of the insectoid Geonosians and as Qui-Gon surrendered his lightsaber, he hoped he hadn’t made as big a mistake as the Force was saying he had.

///

Ahsoka was sitting in the cockpit with Silas on the approach to Geonosis. All three of the Abiik-Kemirs had traded out the ever-present blank black masks for brightly painted Mandalorian style helmets and armor that was cobbled together from different pieces of metal. They’d also upgraded from a shavit-ton of weapons to a kriff-ton. She eyed the gauntlets on his wrists as he guided the ship through the minefield that was the system as easy as he breathed. She saw tiny holders for the little disks she’d seen him testing, holsters for electro-batons, blasters, and vibroblades. The thing that really got her was that she could swear that when he’d first brushed by her to get into the pilot’s seat, she’d felt the hum of kyber crystals.

A light started flashing on one of the displays and Silas swore in what sounded like Mando’a.

“What’s that?”

“That, verd’ika, is a warning for some kind of long-distance comm that’s been flagged,” he said, flipping a few switches.

Ahsoka felt the Force hit her.

“Let me see it. Now!”

He shrugged at her and pulled up the frequency. “Knock yourself out. It doesn’t look like they’ve seen us, anyway.”

The frequency made her heart stop. Jedi distress beacon. There was only one Jedi on Geonosis.

“My Master’s in trouble. That’s his distress beacon!” Her heartbeat was rushing in her montrals and her mouth felt as dry as a desert.

“Okay, well, we’re already on our way, aren’t we? Maybe that’s why the Force wanted you to come here.” He shifted a bit, hands guiding the ship through the atmosphere.

“I don’t know. If they caught him-”

“Look. There are five of us. And my aliit and I, we’ve done stuff like this before so many times I can’t even count that high anymore. We’ll get him out. Don’t sell yourself short. I mean, you knew to come here, right? That sounds like it means something.”

“I guess. Do you know anything about Geonosis?”

“Not anywhere near as much as I know about other planets around here,” he said a little bitterly. “The people are insectoid, and specialize in making tech. Mostly droids, but other stuff too. The rumor mill says that they’re in talks with the Confederacy, but that’s not really a surprise. They’ve never liked the Republic or the Hutts very much. They’re not slavers as far as I know, but that doesn’t mean too much. Ben says that they have a caste system and the aristocrats are the only ones with any power. It’s the picadors you want to watch out for. Those are the only ones who could probably give us any trouble outside of a swarm.”

The ship settled with a bump that Ahsoka almost didn’t feel and he lept out of the seat and towards the door in one smooth motion.

“Picadors?”

“Think of them as really high class gladiator types. That’s basically what they are, anyway.”

“How would you know?”

“The depths of Ben’s knowledge know no bounds when it comes to weapons and warriors,” he said cryptically.

“Right.” She sighed, hand gripping at her ‘saber hilt, thumb worrying the activator.

The other two Abiik-Kemirs and Padmé had gathered in the inner airlock. Padmé was wearing a hodgepodge of what looked like an older version of Ejasa’s armor and had two blasters strapped to her thighs. Ben was kitted out in what looked like a very modified tactical uniform that had weapons strapped to every available place. Ejasa herself was armed and armored to the teeth and had all the scanning equipment in a bag that she was checking through as Silas tossed Ben a few mini flash bangs.

“Comms check,” Ejasa said.

Everyone clicked their comms and Ejasa nodded.

“They have my Master. The only time that beacon is used is if a Jedi is captured or killed, and I’d know if he was-if he was dead,” Ahsoka said, gripping her arm.

“Well, that does complicate things, but I was expecting that. I would’ve thought that if he was able, he would’ve contacted you as soon as we were close enough that he’d sense us,” Ben said, checking one of his vibroblades.

“So are we thinking basic infiltration and rescue or something more complicated?” Silas asked.

“Basic infiltration. We don’t know enough about this place to do anything more complicated. Scanners should be able to get us a clear picture, but we don’t know where Fett is. The priorities should be keeping Padmé out of Fett’s sight and rescuing Master Jinn. Anything else is just extra. Stealth is paramount. We can’t let the Geonosians know we’re coming. We don’t want to wind up getting swarmed. Try to go for stunning first. We don’t want to start a war. If you see any droids, make sure that you get rid of them. If even one droid gets to their master, the entire planet will know we’re here. If you get separated, raise Ejasa and she’ll get you back to the rest of us. Is everybody clear on the plan?” Ben’s voice was cold and brusque. Ahsoka almost felt like she was listening to another person as he spoke.

“Got it, Ori’vod.”

“All clear.”

“We’re ready,” Padmé spoke for both of them as Ahsoka nodded.

_I’m coming for you Master. Just hold on._ She hoped he could hear her.

///

Qui-Gon found himself floating in a containment field of some kind, feeling half blind and deaf without the Force running through his bones. He hadn’t been put in a Force suppressor in years and he wasn’t enjoying the reminder. The one saving grace was that Quinlan would’ve gotten the distress beacon and would be bringing help. The problem was that Qui-Gon was quite certain that whatever Dooku and the Geonosians were planning to do with him, it’d be done long before said help arrived. Perhaps he could survive a bit longer, but it wasn’t likely. His former mentor was too smart to leave such a big loose end in a grand plan like the one he’d been talking about in that conference room. Acid burned in his throat at the betrayal that he finally had time to feel.

Dooku had fallen.

Worse, he was plotting the destruction of the Order.

Qui-Gon’d had his issues with the Council, more with every too-quickly passing year. But to go so far as to Fall? To actively plan their destruction? To collude with those who’d sooner see the Jedi extinct than live with them? It was almost beyond belief.

Except.

Most of Qui-Gon’s own maverick ways had come from his mentor. Except that after the Council refused to keep looking for his grand-padawan, Dooku had seemed more vehemently angry with the Council for abandoning one of their own than even Qui-Gon had been. Except that some of the things Dooku had been saying as the leader of the Confederacy had started to sound, for want of a better term, Darker lately. Except that his former mentor had always been at least as close to the edge as Mace was, sometimes even closer.

Maybe it made more sense than Qui-Gon wanted to admit.

Dooku swept in, cape flaring as he walked.

Qui-Gon didn’t say a word, mearly raised an eyebrow.

“My old friend, I’m sorry. This was a grave mistake. I assure you, I’m petitioning to have you released immediately.”

“This had nothing to do with you?”

“I wasn’t aware you were even on Geonosis. May I ask why you were here in the first place?”

“I was tracking a bounty hunter. Jango Fett.”

“The Geonosians don’t allow bounty hunters onto their planet. They don’t trust them.” Dooku circled him as he spoke.

“I don’t blame them, but I sensed him here when I landed. I can assure you that he wouldn’t care whether he was allowed or not.”

“I don’t mean to stand on ceremony, old friend. But I could use your help.”

Qui-Gon couldn’t help the shock on his face. “What could you possibly need my help for?”

Dooku circled him again, eyes pensive.

“I’ve discovered a terrible truth. You know how corrupt the Republic has become. I don’t believe you’d ever go along with anything they told you if you knew what I know.”

“What truth?” Lead had settled at the bottom of Qui-Gon’s stomach.

“The Sith Lord you’re looking for is in control of the Republic.”

The words hit like so much durasteel. Qui-Gon wished for the Force to feel for the truth of them. It sounded like the most ridiculous thing. The Republic was rife with corruption, that much was true, but the Order would’ve noticed such a thing. Someone would’ve noticed. Except…

“The Dark Side has clouded all your vision, my friend. Even as we speak, hundreds of senators are under Darth Sidious’s influence. And that number is only growing. Gunray was betrayed by Sidious ten years ago and when he came to me for help; he told me everything he knew. If you join me, with our strength together, we can defeat Sidious. He lost one of his best weapons against Force Users years ago. But I still have the manual. If we can find it, we can turn the Sith’s own weapon against him.”

“It may be possible that there is a Sith in the Senate. But even if you’re telling the truth, I cannot join you. You can’t see your own darkness, my friend.” The acid was back to crawling its way up Qui-Gon’s throat.

Dooku’s face was unreadable as he stepped back.

“It may be difficult to secure your release, Qui-Gon,” he said before he left, cape sweeping the floor behind him with every step.

///

Ahsoka crept up to the door next to Ben. Geonosis had shocked her with how cold the night was. Silas had made some sort of grim joke about it she hadn’t caught that Ben had swatted him upside the helmet for. She’d never been on a desert planet like Geonosis before. Her montrals kept picking up the movements of tiny little animals that were just a breath in the Force. The sand shifted under her feet so much it felt like her feet would never come out sometimes. She could smell adrenaline in the air and the faint scent of something alive. She let herself get into huntress mode. If there was ever a time, and all that.

Silas went up to the lock and started to fiddle with it. Within a few seconds the door was sliding open. Ahsoka went to walk in, but Ben pulled her back.

“Wait,” he said, his voice almost too quiet to be heard.

“Buir?”

“There’s movement. About twenty potential hostiles,” Ejasa said.

“And a long dark hallway for them to hide in between us and the actual entry point. Fun,” Silas’s voice was as dry as the sand stuck in Ahsoka’s boots.

“I’ll take care of it.” Ben moved, the scarlet of his helmet purple in the tinted night light.

“Come on,” Silas went after him and Ahsoka stayed on Padmé, montrals showing her Ejasa coming in behind.

She could only see Ben in her montrals as he moved into the corridor.

“Senaar, did you get the stunner disks to deliver enough of a charge to knock someone out?” His voice came over the comms.

“If I did the math right, yeah,” said Silas.

“Let’s test it, shall we?”

A second later, two bright purple-blue flashes came from ahead and two Geonosians thumped onto the ground.

“Good job, Senaar.” Ben’s voice held a vicious pride that made Ahsoka shiver.

“Eighteen more,” Ejasa’s voice was steady.

Another two flashes and another two thumps. Ahsoka heard the sound of keratin plates shifting against each other and movement started to show in her montrals.

Another two flashes.

“Haar’chak.” Geonosians started crawling out of the walls ahead and Ahsoka dashed, up ‘saber lighting the darkness up a brilliant emerald green.

She shouldn’t’ve bothered.

Ben was a tornado. The two Geonosians that reached him first got vibroblades in their top shoulder joints and stun disks in the face for their trouble in fraction of a second. The next two were treated to him throwing one bodily into the other and hitting them both with an electro-baton set on the highest setting so fast Ahsoka could barely even trace the movements. The next three came at him at once and one went down to the electro-baton. One went down to the butt of another electro-baton hitting them in the head with the sick crack of plastoid on keratin. And the third went down to a hard kick and a heavier hit with both batons. One went high while another three came down low. Ben pulled the flying one down, forcing them in front of him for cover. One of the crackling electro-batons disappeared for a flash bang that lit up his profile like lightning. He hit the Geonosian in his arms with the baton still in his right hand and jumped over them towards the other three. A vibroblade went into the one on the left, the baton hit the one on the right, and a kick that landed with another crack of keratin plating hit the one in the middle. A stun disk took the one on the left down for good, and a heavy hit with the baton put the one in the middle out cold. He rolled something that looked like a grenade towards the remaining Geonosians and it exploded with all force, no fire, pushing them all into the wall with a heavy thud.

It was over in less than a minute and he wasn’t even breathing heavy.

“All clear,” Ejasa’s voice rung in the silence.

“Senaar, the door,” Ben’s voice was like a blast of Hoth air and for the first time, Ahsoka was a little bit afraid of the people she’d been sent on this mission with.

But she swallowed it down and followed Padmé to the door behind Silas and Ben by the light of her ‘saber.

Silas opened the door even quicker than the one outside and they were in the facility.

Silas, Ahsoka, and Padmé went through before Ejasa and Ben and the bridge retracted so fast, she didn’t even have the chance to try and catch Silas or Padmé as they fell.

“Guys!”

“Kriffing di’kutla skanah!” She heard Silas curse as she jumped down after them, calling her ‘saber to her.

Geonosians flew at her and she cut the first two in half, swallowing the acid in her throat at the killing that seemed to stain the crystal in her blade.

Her montrals were buzzing with all the movement in the factory, impressions next to useless beyond distracting her. But the Force was lit up with the unnatural hum of the Geonosians swarming towards her. She’d lost track of Padmé and Silas.

She cut through the factory, jumping over mechanical arms and around red hot metal until she found a place where she could jump off the conveyer. She ran forward, trying to find Padmé and Silas when suddenly, the Force felt like it exploded.

A huge presence erupted into existence and Ahsoka felt herself stumble, blinded by the force of it. A supergiant of Light with Dark marbling through it like that stone in Padmé’s lakehouse.

She looked towards where the presence was, instincts demanding that she see what in the Corellian _Hells_ had just happened to the Force and she saw Silas holding one of the vessels that held the liquid metal in the air above their heads while _pushing_ all of the Geonosians around him away without even twitching a finger.

Padmé was standing next to him, blaster still raised, but she was staring at him like she was seeing him for the first time.

Maybe she was.

The moment broke and Ahsoka flipped over the Geonosian, slashing them in two before she hit the next conveyer and tried to get over to Padmé and Silas.

The scream of warning from the Force came a second too late and a figure in Mandalorian armor with a jetpack pushed her off of the conveyer. She twisted, barely managing to avoid landing on her head, saber clutched tightly in her hand.

“Hands up, Jedi.”

She was surrounded by what felt like a hundred Geonosians and droids; but the only being she cared about was the one right in front of her.

Jango Fett.

Kriff.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Verd’ika-Private (as in rank) or Little Soldier  
> Aliit-Family  
> Ori’vod-Older Brother  
> Buir-Parent  
> Di’kutla-Useless  
> Skanah-Much hated thing
> 
> I’m not going to lie. All of the dialogue with Dooku fought me hard. Damn it, George; why do you do these things? Winter Soldier!Ben makes his debut. And Ahsoka meets Anakin for real. As a side note, the Geonosians actually have a pretty interesting cultural hierarchy and that was a very nice surprise in my Wookieepedia-ing. Sadly, I don’t think I’m going to try to use any of their language in this. The Mando’a is enough for me without adding another thing to the mix. Next stop: Petranaki!


	4. Ghosts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dooku gets his way, secrets are revealed, and the Battle of Geonosis begins

Shmi was part of the planet. She was a mountain whose roots ran deep into its core and whose peak scraped its skies. The wind pushed her, things grew in her circle, time tested her, but her foundation was strong. She was patient. She would not be beaten into submission. Not by the Geonosians. Not by her own emotions. Not even by the rage bubbling beneath the surface at that di’kutla, dar’manda Jango Fett. No. They hadn’t put her in Force inhibitors or taken any of their helmets, for which she was grateful to the Force. They had taken her ‘saber, weapons, and all the scanning equipment (the money and hours of work flashing before her eyes as they did so). But this too would pass. She could feel Ahsoka’s presence dimmed by sleep and suppressor cuffs next to her and Padmé’s fiery energy across the way.

These she would protect.

She’d felt Ahsoka and Padmé’s shock and it had taken her a split second to realize Anakin had slipped. A split second between the Geonosians cuffing her and Ben and Jango swanning in in armor painted in the color of a wish for redemption. A Jedi knew about at least one of them. Jango knew about her son. Getting off of Genosis, even in this state, was more than doable. She knew what the three of them were capable of. The problem was that in doing so, they’d be forced to reveal all three of themselves. Most likely in front of Jinn, who would have no choice but to tell the Order about them. There were ways to slip his lead, but not without abandoning Ahsoka and Padmé, who’d done nothing wrong. She refused to do that.

She felt Fett coming down the hall and swallowed her anger. She needed to be calm for this conversation.

“Cerar.”

She opened her eyes and nodded. “Jango.”

“What are you doing here. This planet doesn’t have any slavers or spice traders for your aliit to kill.” His helmet was off.

“Amidala isn’t a Jedi. Sometimes it’s necessary to expand your horizons.”

“I agreed to stay out of your way when you were going after the Zygerrians, or the Hutts, or slavers. Not when you took a job that put you in my way.”

“And what has she done to earn your attention, Fett? Outside of anger someone with deeper pockets than her.”

“Why does it matter to you if she lives or dies, Cerar? She’s some Mid-Rim senator who’s never been taken out of her people’s shebs enough to give a damn about your cause.”

“Because, Fett. When we kill for our cause, we do it because the one we’re killing has done something to deserve it. Not because we’ll be payed. Not because it’s profitable. But in the pursuit of justice.”

“Looks more like the pursuit of vengeance to me,” he said.

“Which is still a better reason than profit; which isn’t any better than nothing.”

“I already took the job, what do you want me to do?”

“Nothing.”

“It’s never that simple with you people.”

“I want you to do nothing. This is all coming to a head. When it does, don’t do anything besides take care of your adiik. If they tell you to go after her, play the part, but don’t do anything to actually harm her.”

“And what are you going to give me if I agree to that?” He was close.

“My word that I won’t let Cuyan or Senaar try to kill you for putting them in here. And that I won’t either.”

She could feel how cold the reminder of the last time he’d fought Ben was. Her gut twisted at using his reputation for that. But she knew her older son. And she knew her younger son even better. Both of them would gladly space Fett for helping the Geonosians corner them.

“Fine. You keep your people out of my way, and I’ll stay out of yours. Same as always.”

He stalked away without another word.

Shmi settled back into her meditation pose and breathed out the lava river of anger into the Force.

“Why did he call you that?” Shmi opened her eyes to see Padmé sitting across from her.

“It’s a name people like him know me by. You don’t do the work we do in the Outer Rim without getting a reputation.”

“Your cause?” Shmi tasted the sour-sweet of suspicion on Padmé’s words in the Force.

“Our cause has nothing to do with anyone in the Senate. We fight for those who can’t. And in the Outer Rim there is enough of that work for a thousand lifetimes. When I agreed to protect you, I gave my word as an oath; and I honor every oath I take. Our cause is only one.”

“What are you going to do? They’re going to execute us.” Shmi felt her heart beat in sympathy with the fear in Padmé’s signature that she hid so well in her voice.

“They’re probably going to put us in a Petranaki arena. They won’t give us any weapons and we’ll be tied up. But there will be picadors with static staffs. I think all of us are good enough to get free before the fight starts and as soon as we’re free, we’ll be able to get out. This isn’t anywhere close to the worst scenario we had in mind when we agreed to come here. We will get out of here.”

Shmi was a mountain. Her roots were deep in the ground and she couldn’t be moved. Worse than the Geonosians had tried and failed. They would be no different.

///

Ben was debating the merits of removing his binders. Anakin was slumped against him, pallid, clammy, and feverish with the Force suppressant cuffs they’d put him in. It’d be difficult to get them off without jolting him. They’d also probably just put him in better binders. He sighed, working his shoulders as best he could while restrained like he was. He kept an idle eye on Anakin’s fever while trying to calculate which type of combat was most likely. There would, at the very least, be picadors; which meant that there would be static staffs and orray. Ahsoka was here, and so was Jinn, but if they were in any state like Anakin’s they wouldn’t be helpful for a little while.

“I am helpful,” Anakin said, words slurring and accented with a sharp shiver.

“You’re helpful when you’re not in Force suppressant binders. Why am I not surprised those didn’t really work on you?”

“Miracle child, remember?” He clung to Ben, grip weak. Ben winced. That wasn’t good.

“Take it easy. They’ll probably take those off when they take us to the arena,” he said, shifting so Anakin’s head had more support on his shoulder.

“What’s your strategy?”

“Not to die.”

“Smart. That’s-that’s a good idea. I like that one,” Anakin shivered.

Ben felt the Geonosian’s tell-tale hum coming towards their cell.

He settled into the cold, calculating part of his mind and let the Dark come up under the cloak. It coiled around him and he felt the power of it bring strength to the muscles that’d been strained by sitting in the position he was in. The odds clicked away. Between the six of them, they’d be able to get out of the arena. But even with the Force, they couldn’t fight an entire planet. An army maybe, with the right weapons. But they didn’t have those either. Their heaviest hitter Force wise was down for the count for now, and the Jedi were too. But not Shmi. Padmé was resourceful enough to make a stand on her own, from what he’d sensed and seen of the fight through his vod’s eyes.

The key would be getting weapons of some sort.

With that, the Geonosians had arrived and he and Anakin were being hauled bodily through the passages to the arena. He felt Shmi’s desert warm presence reach to him as he got closer.

_I talked to Fett_. She said.

_What’s the situation?_

_He’ll stay out of the way._ Her voice was beskar lined determination. He almost felt a little bad for Fett.

_Padmé and Ahsoka?_ He asked.

_They’re both fine. Ahsoka’s woozy from the suppressors, but they took them off so she’ll be back to normal soon._

_Good._

_Anakin?_

_About as good as you’d expect._

A flash of anger-worry shot through the bond like lightning. He knew she wasn’t going to be happy about that. He made a mental note to ask the Force for mercy for their captor’s soul.

_There’s a Dark-Sider here._ She said.

_I know. Powerful one too._

_If they’re in command, that’s going to make this a lot more difficult._

_Keep an eye out. You’ll probably get taken out before we will._

_I’ll let you know._ She withdrew.

Their jailers threw them into a room that looked out into the Petranaki arena. More Geonosians forced them into a cart before they took off all of Ben’s chains but the binders and Anakin’s Force suppressors. Anakin let out a low groan and almost collapsed before Ben steadied him. His brother’s familiar supergiant presence flooded back into the familial bond, filling up the hollow space it’d left behind. Shmi’s presence brushed over them both, and left behind an impression of where they were in the arena. Almost right next door, then. That was good.

He heard a cheer rise up in the Geonosian’s clicking language. Shmi and the others had just been taken outside. He turned his senses outward, trying to get an impression of what he had to work with. Thousands of Geonosians humming in the Force. The Dark Sider. Someone who could only be Jinn. Fett, the shabuir. Picadors lining all of the entrances, orray wild presences alongside them. Lovely.

Their cart started to move and another clicking cheer went up. Ben sighed. Ibtuur jatne tuur ahs’ad kyr’amur.

They were brought to a series of four columns. Jinn and Ahsoka were tied furthest to the left and Shmi and Padmé were tied to the one furthest to the right. They pulled Ben out first and tied him next to Shmi and Padmé. He turned to look at Shmi who jerked her head at the VIP box. He twisted as far as he could and caught sight of a tall figure in dark clothes. Looking at them felt like being dunked in an ice bath. That was the one. He also caught sight of a few dignitaries he and his aliit’d had the misfortune to cross before. Sometimes, credits outweighed anyone’s ability to do something; and the Trade Federation was truly a _marvelous_ example of credits outweighing the ability to possess anything resembling common sense or respect. That must be who the battle droids were for, though. That wasn’t a good sign for the Outer Rim.

A Geonosian made some sort of announcement that boomed across the arena and Ben felt the life signs of the creatures they were going to be fighting. All of them were practically rabid with hunger and pain. He poked Shmi and Anakin through the bond. Both nodded. Padmé was already working Shmi and herself free and Ben could feel Jinn and Ahsoka conferring through the Force. The gates opened. Padmé and Shmi started climbing the pillar. Under the roar of the crowd, Ben heard Ahsoka let out a little gasp. Four creatures came out of the gates, surrounded by picadors. The only two that caught Ben’s eye were the akul and the nexu. Even the picadors near those two felt like veins of nerves in the Force.

They set the creatures to charge.

Ben didn’t hear the horn blow. He was already thinking of fifty different ways to get one of the static staffs.

///

The akul had been a nasty surprise. It’d eaten one of the picadors almost immediately after it was released, and Shmi knew that it was more than capable of climbing the pillar. Padmé had gathered her chains as a weapon and Shmi had done the same. It charged them, and she spared a thought for her family and a moment of loss for the secret she’d carried for fifty years before she reached deep into the Force. She felt the akul scale the column with all the shredding, tearing power of its claws rending the soft red sandstone into dust. She felt its wild anger, its pain, its hunger. She felt all these things, and she jumped, pushing off with the Force.

She trusted that she’d landed where she needed to, chains wrapping tight around the beast’s neck. It swung, trying to pry, to throw her across the arena and she held tight, stuck like glue. She pulled on the Light side of the Force. The akul thrashed and the metal cut into her hands, but it was all distant and far off. She pushed out heavy waves of _peace_ and _calm_ and _relief_. The people yelled, harsh clicks getting swallowed by the depths of the Force.

Slowly, the akul settled. She worked, pulling as much of the pain out as she could. It was still a predator, but it was surrounded by bigger prey than their little group. Now to get it to see that.

///

Ben couldn’t even find it in himself to be shocked when Shmi jumped on the karking akul and started trying to break it like a mustang. He shook his head and let the reek do the job of breaking his chains for him. He heard what sounded like a small explosion as he charged for one of the picadors.

He didn’t even want to know.

He grabbed onto the static staff and used in to vault over the picador’s head, keeping a grip on the staff. He twisted in the air and the staff hit the picador in the face, angled just so. A stab to keep the picador down, a turn, and there was the acklay, green shell filling his vision. Aim, throw, and the acklay was skewered.

Now where was the-

Ben dove to the side as the reek charged him again.

///

Ahsoka ran towards one of Geonosians, trying to ignore whatever is was Ejasa was doing to the akul in the Force. Two of them were Force Users! How had she missed that? And her grand-master was a Dark-Sider now? What was her life? She grabbed the staff and _pushed_ the Geonosian off the animal’s back. The staff felt heavy and awkward in her hands compared to her ‘saber. She wished she’d spent some more time with Master Ti before all of this. The Geonosian came at her, the creature it’d been riding running away. Ahsoka did as perfect of an Ataru flip as she could muster and slashed at them with the staff. The swing went a little wide, but the point made solid enough contact that Ahsoka didn’t want to see the damage she’d done.

She turned and ran towards her Master and Silas who were using their chains to fend off the nexu. Everything in her made her instincts scream not to get any closer to the akul, but she was a Jedi (padawan). No way was she letting her Master try to beat a nexu with kriffing chains and nothing else. As soon as she was close enough she slid at the nexu, lifting the staff like a pike and hoping beyond all hope that-. The static staff went into the nexu’s side and she leaped aside, drawing on the Force for momentum, rolling to a stop next to her Master. He looked down at her and gave her the saddest smile she’d ever seen from him before he said, “Thank you, Ahsoka.”

///

Anakin couldn’t resist stretching out. After so many hours without it, the colors and shapes of the Force were blinding and he could taste the emotions and sensations in the Force. His entire body felt like he had his hand stuck in an active hyperdrive. He felt what his Buir was trying to get the akul to do, but didn’t dare try to help. Ben on the other hand. He could help with a reek problem. Before he could try anything, he felt the breakthrough Buir had been working towards with the akul. She let go of the chains and gathered a huge cloud of the Force to cushion her and Padmé’s fall, the cottony piles of it lighting up red and gold. He could cry at being able to feel everything, and he wasn’t sure that he wasn’t.

The akul streaked towards the reek, grabbed it before it could get turned around, and settled in for an actual meal that might do something for it.

Ben sprinted towards them and skidded to a stop just as droids came rolling into the arena. All six of them were surrounded by battle droids with nothing but chains and static staffs for weapons. Anakin felt Jinn forcing bad feelings that he didn’t have the precision to figure out into the Force at the sight of them.

All of that was clouded over by the white-hot, magnesium bright presence he felt of Jedi materializing around the arena. More droids were waiting in the wings and the familiar sound of ‘sabers activating came from all around in a rainbow of colors (except red). The Force looked like a _hurricane_ with all the beings drawing on it at once. There was so little Dark that he felt like he was burning. None of that was enough to distract him from the comforting feeling of his kyber crystal humming in tune with his bones. He looked up and saw Jango blasting away with his son in tow.

Sometimes his Buir scared him.

Anakin jumped in, indigo blade cutting through the droids like they weren’t even there.

///

Ahsoka knew she’d felt kyber crystals when they’d landed on Geonosis! Ejasa’s amber blade was moving in a Soresu pattern that was almost as perfect as Master Drallig’s, reflecting blaster bolts away from Padmé with ease. Padmé was shooting down every droid she got even half a sight of, some of them falling right as Ahsoka was moving to cut them down. The borrowed ‘saber still felt a little awkward, but it was way better than the staff. Ahsoka leaned in, twisting around droids and slashing them in half. Weaving around the big commando ones and cutting their legs out from under them. The training came out in every single move. She was liquid grace.

She got in behind Master Jinn’s back again. The feeling of Jedi dying felt like a tidal wave coming in and Ahsoka pulled into the training bond trying to get away from it. The droids were still coming. The Jedi rescuers, Padmé, and the Abiik-Kemirs were getting pushed together in a tighter and tighter circle, and Ahsoka could feel how few of them were left no matter how hard she tried to push it into the Force.

Suddenly, the droids stopped firing. Master Jinn looked up at Dooku.

“Master Windu. You’ve all fought valiantly today. Something for the Jedi Archives, to be sure. Surrender now, and we will spare your lives.” Dooku’s voice was regal and Ahsoka shuddered at the layer of Dark under it all. Something coiled like a viper.

“We do not surrender, Dooku.” Master Windu’s voice was as flat and grouchy sounding as ever. It was almost enough to make Ahsoka feel a little better.

“Look!”

The thing Padmé pointed out set Ahsoka’s soul on fire again.

///

Shmi forced herself back, trying to minimize the recoil. These men. The white plastoid armor shone in the harsh desert sun and they were all the same. The Force was screaming with how wrong it was that they were all the same. She could feel the differences between them. Their emotions came in a crushing wave of metallic tinged adrenaline in the back of her throat, heart racing excitement that pounded in her temples, and an overwhelming swell of the need to be helpful, to be useful. They were too similar, all of them were too similar to the way Fett felt in the Force to not be at least related to him. She knew, even as she jumped into the gunship with Padmé and Jinn, that these men who had rescued them hadn’t had a choice in the matter. Her stomach churned with the certainty more than any amount of rough flying could ever do.

The bright-hot-Light presences of the Jedi around her weren’t helping matters. Now that there wasn’t any immediate danger for them to focus on, she was attracting an uncomfortable amount of attention. She took a moment, a breath. She found the storm of all the emotions she didn’t have the time to process. The pieces of shield that had been opened when she was working on the akul. She took them all in her hands and smoothed them over, smearing them across the landscape of her mind until they were spread thinly enough that she had room to work. She’d have to go back over it later, but she didn’t have the time or the privacy for that right now.

She felt so many of these men’s life signatures getting wiped out below. This was wrong. She felt it down to the marrow of her bones.

“General Jinn, sir; we’ve been ordered to pursue Count Dooku,” said the man right next to her.

“Yes. Alright, 7567. Tell the other pilot to go to the hangar as well. I want to ensure we can bring him in.” Jinn’s voice was shattered.

Shmi turned towards (apparently) 7567 to ask him where they had all come from when the gunship jolted. Shmi knew that kind of jolt.

“We’ve been hit! Everyone brace for impact!”

Shmi dragged Padmé and 7567 into a back facing corner. “Both of you brace against the wall, heads down between your knees!” She shouted while doing the same.

She felt the fire licking over the ship.

The gunship crashed in a blast of sand. The men who hadn’t been on the floor landed with the hard cracking sound of plastoid on metal.

“Everybody out! Everybody get out now!” Shmi shouted, helping Jinn to his feet.

She forced everyone out before she let 7567 help her down. The other gunship with Ben, Anakin, and Ahsoka had pressed on. Okay. Then the hanger was still where they needed to go. She heard Padmé martialing the men around together with Jinn. She turned to 7567.

“What’s your name?”

He jolted, and there was a shockingly strong projection of something unnameable through the Force. She hadn’t had the brain-space to notice just how _bright_ his presence was before.

“Just-”

“Not a number, your name.” She refused to call another sentient being by a number.

He hesitated, looking around for something. Then he took a breath.

“Rex, sir. I’m Captain Rex,” he said so quietly she almost couldn’t hear him.

“Alright, Captain. Rally your men. Our best bet is to get to that hangar. We need to get across these dunes. Sitting out in the sun on a planet like this is as good as shooting yourself in the foot.”

“Yes Sir!”

///

Ben had almost had to bodily hold both Anakin and Ahsoka back from jumping out of the gunship when the other one went down. The reason he wasn’t jumping with them was a complete mystery. He’s started getting a bit of a headache when he’d seen Jinn. But it’d exploded into a migraine when the Dark-Sider (Dooku, apparently) had started speaking. A rivet was going through his head, cracks radiating around his skull from the point of entry. He wanted to bury his head in his knees, but he had work to do. These men were going to go after Dooku, and he couldn’t leave them to face a Force User alone. It’d be a massacre. He was distantly aware of Anakin trying to draw out some of the pain through the bond. But it was an exercise in futility when it was this bad. Ben just hoped that he wouldn’t vomit while he was trying to catch this Dooku.

The ship settled on the dock and Anakin and Ahsoka jumped out. Ben had a feeling…

“Don’t try to leave. Get out and guard the entrance. Wait for backup.”

“Right, Sir.”

He ran after the two hellions who’d apparently taken over his life.

“You’re going to pay for all the Jedi you killed today, Dooku!” He heard Ahsoka shout just as he reached the hanger bay.

Dooku’s ship was sitting ready for take off. Anakin and Ahsoka both had their ‘sabers lit and in guard positions. Dooku was watching them, Dark pouring off of him in oily waves. Ben could feel the too-far-too-deep pull of someone who’d let themselves be swallowed by one of the black holes that dotted the Dark Side’s landscape.

“I wondered if it was you,” Dooku said, dark eyes locked on Ben’s even through the helmet.

“I saw your work in the early days. I remember, they used you to test if Fett was the right fit. The things you were capable of, I knew that a mission as small and simple as the one on that backwater Tatooine wouldn’t be enough to kill you, Hibir,” Ben’s head felt like it was being cracked open and set on fire. That wasn’t enough that he didn’t see Ahsoka charging forward. He felt the Darkness gather and he knew what he had to do.

He stepped in front of the Force Lightning. The pain ground his bones to dust and covered his nerves in white hot metal. He hit the wall. As soon as he could open his eyes, he only saw the dark. The lightning had killed his HUD.

“Haar’chak,” he cursed as he took off his bucket.

Anakin had attacked while he was being cooked. Indigo clashed against scarlet in a stunning display of colored streaks, flips, and Force pushes. He could feel Anakin drawing on Dooku’s own Darkness, using it to power his attacks and move his ‘saber where it needed to be to catch the scarlet streak. Ahsoka came running towards him and he felt her absorbing the details of his face, her guilt was written all over her face and her Force signature.

“I’m sorry, Ben. I didn’t mean…” She was gripping her arm, eyes locked on the battle raging behind them.

“Don’t worry about it, Verd’ika. A little bit of Force Lightning isn’t enough to hurt me. Just keep your guard up, alright? That won’t be the last time Dooku tries that,” Ben said, getting to his feet.

“Anytime you feel like helping!” Anakin yelled.

Ben cut in behind the two, red-purple of his ‘saber igniting as he moved.

Dooku’s eyes widened as he took in Ben’s features. He looked like he was trying to put together a complicated puzzle. His defenses were almost distracted.

“Obi-Wan?” His voice came out, almost soft with disbelief. Ben didn’t hear it. That soft little whisper had put him on the floor, head exploding.

///

Anakin stepped in front of Ben and tried get a stab past Dooku’s guard. His brother was clutching his head hard between shaking palms and Anakin felt the rage churning the navy thunderheads of the Dark around them. He could see the lines leading from Dooku to his ‘saber and he kept pulling them, folding them into his movements, letting Dooku’s own power batter at him.

“If it is you, then I am sorry little one. But if I am to defeat Sidious, then I must have Hibir in my arsenal. A’den,” Ben jolted like he’d been struck. The Force recoiled at the word. An all consuming urgency covered everything else in Anakin’s mind. Whatever he did, he couldn’t let Dooku finish whatever it was he’d just started to do.

“Ciryc.”

Anakin slammed his blade down onto Dooku’s and tried to grab the hilt of Dooku’s ‘saber.

“Copad.”

Dooku slid his blade in the lock and Anakin was forced to let go or lose his hands.

“Hettyc.”

Anakin couldn’t focus on the duel. He felt his brother slipping away from the bond like sand through his fingers, no matter how hard he tried to hold onto him. He dimly noticed Ahsoka joining into the fray, trying to wedge an opening in Dooku’s defense.

“Digur.”

Ahsoka managed to Force Dooku’s blade up in a bind, but he disengaged and caught Anakin’s ‘saber so fast it made Anakin’s head spin. Of course, that may have been the vertigo from their family’s bond as it self-destructed from the inside out.

“Shekemir.”

Dooku flung a burst of Force Lightning at Ahsoka and she went flying into the wall, trailing smoke. Anakin snarled and feinted to the left before trying to stab at Dooku. Still, indigo met scarlet.

“Ekur.”

Anakin tried to push at Dooku with everything he had in the Force, but he couldn’t get his mind to function outside of the searing feeling of his anchors being ripped out by their roots. Dooku pushed back. The Darkness around him threatened to suck Anakin under. Indigo and scarlet blurs danced aftershocks across his vision in the still-blinding display of the thunderstorm of the Force around them.

“Yustapir.”

They were too close to Ben. Their ‘sabers clashed and Anakin had to twist and turn to keep from stepping on him. He was so far away, Anakin almost couldn’t feel him anymore. He wasn’t even moving, and the pain poured out of him like blood from an artery. The Force was red.

“Arpat.”

Dooku’s scarlet ‘saber almost managed to stab Anakin in the chest, so close he could feel the heat through his armor. He realized that he was crying under his helmet, vision so blurred with colors and tears he could be dreaming. _Please, Force let this be a nightmare._

“Ut’reeyah.”

Anakin didn’t hear the tapping of a gimmer stick on the ground. Didn’t hear Dooku tell Ben to get up with that Force damned word-Hibir. Didn’t hear his own scream that ripped out his throat and his chest until he was as hollow as the wretched eviscerated bond that had torn a hole in the most sensitive part of his core in the Force.

The only thing he heard was the ear-piercing silence.

Ben was gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mando’a Translations
> 
> Dikut’la-Useless  
> Dar’manda-The state of no longer being Mandalorian. One who has lost his heritage.  
> Shebs-Backside  
> Adiik-Child between the ages of 3-13  
> Vod-Sibling/Brother  
> Shabuir-Insult that’s kind of like jerk, but much stronger.  
> Ibtuur jatne tuur ahs’ad kyr’amur.- Mandalorian Saying Today is a good day for someone else to die  
> Aliit-Family  
> Buir-Parent  
> Haar’chak-Damn it  
> Verd’ika-Little Soldier  
> A’den-Wrath/Rage  
> Ciryc-Cold  
> Copad-Ambition  
> Hettyc-Burning  
> Digur-Forget  
> Shekemir-Follow  
> Ekur-Choke  
> Yustapir-River  
> Arpat-Seed  
> Ut’reeyah-Empty
> 
> Shmi and Padmé aren’t having any of this "wait to be rescued" nonsense. Dooku is a raging dumpster fire. I’m so sorry. On a more positive note, Jango Fett lives to be a Dad another day. Don’t worry. Shmi will bring him to task about the clones eventually. Dooku didn’t ever see Ben’s face when he was still Sidious’s assassin. He just saw him work and the results of said work. Once again, I’m so sorry.


	5. What Is Freedom?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which a battle is fought, conversations are had, and Yoda makes a misstep with one Shmi Skywalker

The scream Qui-Gon heard when Ejasa dropped to her knees in front of the group was nothing short of soul rending. Where there had been a rock solid presence in the Force that hadn’t been upended or disturbed by any of the things that had happened, there was now a river of white hot agony. She clutched her hand to her heart as she got to her feet, body shaking visibly. Padmé put a hand on her shoulder and Ejasa leaned into her. They stood like that for a second before Ejasa visibly steeled herself.

“We need to get to that hanger, now! Move!”

A sense of dread came over Qui-Gon and he wasn’t sure he wanted to see whatever it was that was in that hanger.

///

“Kill those two, then get on the ship, Hibir.”

The words were the only things that made Anakin move. Ahsoka couldn’t defend herself. He had to protect her. He had to protect Ben from himself. He had to keep him from following Dooku on that ship. Oh yeah, he had to keep himself alive too, couldn’t forget that.

The jolt of Ben’s saber coming down on his own went up his arms like an electric current.

He felt numb.

The Force was rife with dark red clouds, navy swirls, and black spiderwebs that seemed to be draping over everything. Ben was blank. He was empty. As long as Anakin had ever known him, he had never been this blank. This cold. This empty. It really was like he was dead.

The red-purple flash of his saber came at Anakin from the side and he only just managed to catch it in a guard.

Bind.

Slide.

Ben had just almost taken off his hand. Ben was trying to take off his hand. Ben was trying to _kill_ him and a _fourteen year old_ padawan. The only thing that made sense was that this wasn’t Ben. This was someone else wearing his face. Anakin had known that Ben was dangerous since he’d first met him. But he was his brother! And as dangerous as Ben was, as many incidents as there might’ve been in the first few years, he had never felt like an empty, cold spot in the Force. His signature had never looked like a frozen wasteland.

So. No. Whatever Dooku had done, this wasn’t Ben. But it was Ben’s body; and Anakin would be damned if he was going to kill his brother. Even to save himself.

The next flurry of blows came, and Anakin found himself going through the motions of blocks, drawing what cold energy he could from whoever was wearing Ben’s face and using it to parry his strikes. He kept a finger on Ahsoka through the Force and made sure to keep the duel as far away from her as he could manage.

The strength behind each and every stab, strike, and swipe was brutal, and he wasn’t slowing down. Anakin’s arms were already weak from the withdrawal of the Force before, then the fight with the droids, then the duel with Dooku. He couldn’t afford a single slip. Despite the pain of the wrecked, bleeding bond, he reached deeper into the Force and let it guide his hands. Dark gave him strength and speed. Light gave him relief and endurance. Through that, he felt the hollows of his chest echo with the beat of every strike of the ‘sabers.

He felt a Jedi somewhere nearby and the sound of another duel. Another deadline. He couldn’t let that Jedi anywhere near his brother.

He forced the duel back into the corner around Dooku’s ship. He needed to disable him somehow. He fell into Juyo and started pulling more on the Dark, feeding it into a flurry of blows that turned his ‘saber into an indigo blur. He lured Ben into a series of blocks and finally he got the opening he was looking for.

_I’m sorry, Ben._

Anakin cut Ben’s lightsaber in half. He took a half second to breath.

That was a mistake.

Ben grabbed his dominant hand and twisted so far Anakin felt the tendons scream.

He screamed with them, dropping his ‘saber and ducking and twisting around to relieve the pressure.

He grabbed Ben by the back of the neck, tucked, and tried to roll Ben into a throw. A sharp pull on the Force and Ben had grappled him, his dominant wrist still in Ben’s hand. Ben kneed into the one spot of his chin the helmet didn’t cover and Anakin felt his neck strain as his head snapped back, eyes seeing stars. Air wouldn’t fit in his lungs. Ben twisted him around again and he felt the agony as his shoulder popped out and the bone broke with the force of the throw.

Anakin landed on the ground hard, bruises instantly forming on his ribs. He tried to cut himself off from the pain, drawing the Light around the break as tightly as he could. Through the haze of the fog of Light he’d pulled around himself and the pain, he saw Ben stalking towards Ahsoka.

No.

Anakin gather everything he could reach, Light, Dark, it didn’t matter. He gathered it all, forced himself up just enough to see straight, and _pushed_ as hard as he could.

Ben went flying into the wall like a rag doll.

He hit and Anakin felt the impact deep inside his own soul. As black overtook his vision, he had one more conscious thought:

_Force, don’t let him be dead._

///

Qui-Gon lead the charge into the hanger, Padmé, Ejasa, and the clones flanking his sides. The hanger felt so cold, he was amazed his breath wasn’t fogging. Ejasa let out a wounded noise and ran over to the crumpled form cradled in Ahsoka’s arms. Qui-Gon went to follow, but he was caught up by another person, leaning against the wall next to Ahsoka.

His cheekbones were sharper. There were a few wrinkles staring to form on his forehead and around his eyes. He had a full beard. His auburn red hair was longer than would ever have been allowed. But the Force presence was what confirmed it. Qui-Gon didn’t even notice how close he’d gotten. He dropped to his knees, impact not even registering.

Obi-Wan was alive.

Obi-Wan was alive, and he’d seen him, spoken to him, fought with him. And he’d never even known. He felt the Dark marbling through his Force signature and heard Quinlan’s words about what he’d seen in the back of his head. What _happened_ to him? Why hadn’t he _said_ anything. Had he forgotten?

Dimly, he heard Ahsoka talking in the background.

“And then Dooku-he, he said these _words_ , I don’t know. They sounded Mandalorian. We tried to stop him, I swear. But then Dooku hit me with Force lightning and by the time I woke up, Ben was trying to kill him. He saved my life.”

The clone captain came over.

“Would you like help moving him, sir? A medevac shuttle is on its way. For both of them.” He added, turning halfway towards Ejasa.

“Yes please, Captain.” Qui-Gon’s voice sounded foreign to his own ears. Everything sounded like it was coming through water.

“Yes Sir.” The man grabbed Obi-Wan’s, Ben’s, legs and Qui-Gon grabbed his shoulders, bracing his head and neck between his forearms as best he could.

They laid him out flat on the floor away from the tiny knot that had formed around Silas. Ejasa picked herself up and sat in the middle of them. Qui-Gon could feel her numb shock through the Force and saw the fine tremors running through her hands and up her arms. She was gripping her legs so tight, Qui-Gon was almost worried she’d give herself bruises.

“We never knew anything about his past.” Qui-Gon tried to control his start. He hadn’t expected her to speak.

“He didn’t remember his name, who he was, anything at first. Some started to come back. Slowly. It was always painful for him, even if he never said anything. I knew. He was so good with An-Silas when he was young. And as the two of them got older, as we got further away from everything…I realized that I had another son. I didn’t care who he used to be. I didn’t care what he’d been forced to do. He was family.”

She brushed Obi-Wan’s face, other hand holding Silas’s in a durasteel grip.

“He’s still in there.” She sounded as firm as her rock solid presence had been.

“Master Jinn.” Qui-Gon looked over at Yoda. He hadn’t even noticed him coming.

“Escape, Dooku did. A serious matter this is. Returned the Apprentice has. Allow him to go we cannot.”

“Master Yoda, if Ahsoka’s account is correct, and Mr. Abiik-Kemir can corroborate it, then Obi-Wan, Ben, didn’t have a choice. We cannot allow him to be left out in the cold for a choice he didn’t make. No matter what his history is.”

“Know well, you do, how many Jedi the Apprentice has killed. Willing are you to risk his return?”

“He was brainwashed. It’s obvious if you were to ask. Ben had no real memories. Whatever that demgolka did to him, it was against his will. He would never willingly hurt Silas, or Ahsoka, or anyone here unless they threatened him first.” Shmi’s voice was flat and her presence was completely gone under that strange, glassy effect again.

“Know that we do not.”

“Master Yoda, Ejasa has lived with Ben for years. Whatever was done to him, she knows this version of him better than we ever could. If she says that he wouldn’t then she’s most likely correct.” Qui-Gon didn’t want to think about how he was letting his emotions cloud his judgement. From what little Quinlan had seen before Qui-Gon’d left Kamino, Obi-Wan had been tortured. Obviously they’d stolen his memories, made him Fall, forced him to kill. The Apprentice was a ghost story. Something créchmasters used to remind the initiates why the rules were important. It’d been eleven years since the last confirmed kill. He didn’t like that timing either.

“Time it will take for us to return to Coruscant. Meditate on this I will. Discuss it with the Council we must. But only once back to the Temple we are.” With that, Yoda walked away, one of the clones following behind him.

A pained groan came from Qui-Gon’s right. Silas was awake.

///

Ahsoka tried not to think about anything else. She tried not to think about the feeling of Sith lightning eating her alive. She tried not to think about the terrifying blankness she’d seen on Ben’s face. She tried not to think about the horrific pop-crack of Silas’s arm (The one she was bracing, oh Force the one she could feel shards grinding in when she’d moved him). She tried not to think about the whistle in Silas’s breathing. She tried not to think about Ben flying into the wall and landing right next to her while Silas dropped like he’d _died_. (Like he’d died like she was going to, like she would’ve if he hadn’t _thrown_ his brother with a wave of power that scared her to think about.)

“I don’t like that swelling in his throat,” the medic said.

She had to hold Silas still as he tried to squirm again. (Please stop trying to move, I can’t hold you like this if you keep trying to move.) Ejasa nudged her gently and she slid to the side, supporting his head and neck and immobilizing them like the medic had told her to. Ejasa took her place and Ahsoka found herself without anything to do. She held on to her left arm and drifted next to Master Jinn. She sat down and tried not to curl into a ball like a youngling. She was a padawan, damnit. She had to act like one. He stared into her eyes, sorrow in his. He shifted and wrapped his robe around her shoulders. She hadn’t even realized she was shivering. She clung to his wrist and the training bond as he went to pull away.

A puff of air and he sat down, Light seeping into the Force around them. She clung to it, retracing into the Force and away from everything.

This had all gone so wrong. And it was all her fault! She’d dragged them to Geonosis. She’d gotten them all caught. She’d made a stupid mistake and Dooku had gotten away. Ben had been brainwashed into attacking his brother, Silas might die, and it was all her fault!

“Easy, ‘Soka,” Master Jinn said. “A spiral like that won’t go anywhere. I know. Believe me, I understand how easy it is to follow them. But they never bring you anywhere. Did I ever tell you how we lost him?”

Ahsoka shook her head, confused.

“I didn’t want to take him. I rejected him quite harshly, in fact. When I took him on, the first few months were rife with issues from both of us. I suppose I should’ve tried harder to repair what’d been done. About a year after I took him on, we were in the Outer Rim for an assignment. I thought it’d be fine. We had done this before, and he was quite clever and powerful. We got separated and I felt the training bond snap. I ran back to where I’d last seen him as quickly as I could, but it was too late. I scoured that damned planet for days until the Council forced me to leave. So, you see. This could technically be my fault. If I go thinking that it’s my fault, then I’ll be useless when it comes to things I can actually help fix. You can’t let yourself drown in your guilt, ‘Soka. Experience it. Acknowledge it. Then let it go. A drop at a time if that’s all you can manage.”

“Aren’t we not supposed to feel guilt?” She leaned into him.

“The Council may say that we shouldn’t feel those things. But I’ve long believed that no sentient being is capable of going their whole lives without feeling guilt or anger or sadness. So whatever they have to say about those, you must find a way to experience those emotions and release them. The Force is a powerful ally when it comes to things of that nature. But whatever you do, you cannot let it drown you. That is when things like guilt becomes paths to the Dark side.”

He wrapped an arm around her (Since when did Master Jinn do hugs?) and she breathed in the Light around them.

///

As soon as the medevac shuttle arrived, the medic started barking orders at the clones who poured out of it. Two hover-gurneys were brought out. Qui-Gon watched in what approached awe as, in a well coordinated dance, the two teams lowered the beds, slid backboards under the patients, transferred them, slid the backboards back out, and whisked them onto the shuttle in under five minutes. He followed, seeing Ejasa, Padmé, and Yoda traipsing behind him and Ahsoka. He could feel the brewing storm in Padmé and the glassy silence in Ejasa. Yoda was as inscrutable as he ever was. But Qui-Gon wondered if he felt the same guilt as Qui-Gon himself felt at everything that had happened this day.

Given the way he’d been talking about Obi-Wan and, later on, Silas, Qui-Gon didn’t think so. But then, a multi-centenarian Jedi Grand Master would have surprises up their sleeves. The betrayal was still a burning, stabbing thing in Qui-Gon’s gut. He’d never had the easiest time with Dooku, even as a padawan. But his former mentor had taught him well. Ahsoka said he’d recognized Obi-Wan. For Dooku to recognize him and choose to do this anyway. Qui-Gon didn’t want to believe Dooku would be capable of such a thing. He’d reached out just before. Granted, everything that happened after that had made Qui-Gon question how genuine he’d been. But still, he reached out. He’d seemed reasonable, if paranoid.

How could this happen? How was any of this allowed to happen? Qui-Gon had made his issues with some of the Order’s actions known. But the Order was in the position it was in to keep things like this from being possible, let alone from actually happening. The ten years since Naboo felt simultaneously like they were yesterday and like they were a very long time ago. But Qui-Gon wouldn’t, couldn’t ever forget how the Council had denied the possibility of a Sith even existing so vehemently. It wasn’t until Shaak had confirmed who they’d fought that they even considered the possibility. With the Council so blinded to the Sith that they’d managed to train an apprentice to Maul’s caliber without detection, that they’d managed to destroy Obi-Wan so thoroughly, that they’d managed to corrupt Dooku so completely. Qui-Gon knew, as he knew the man in that hover-gurney used to be Obi-Wan Kenobi, that the Council wouldn’t be able to see the Sith in the Senate unless they were pointed out. Even then, they might deny it.

Then there was the matter of the clones. While the men had saved his and everyone else in that arena’s life, they hadn’t been given a choice. They’d been born, raised, and conditioned to fight and die for the Jedi. They weren’t even given names. Just numbers. And somehow, it’d been seen as acceptable to use them. A guilty part of him, deep in the most selfish parts of his mind, didn’t want to know how many had died today. He would look and he would remember the names of those he could, because he owed them that much for his life. But the idea that they’d been sent to the slaughter, not allowed to fight or say no, horrified him. That the Order itself wasn’t trembling under the weight of it was worse.

He sat outside the bay they’d put Obi-Wan in and watched them work through the transparisteel.

Who was going to wake up, he wondered.

///

Anakin felt like he was floating. The Force washed over him, wind in the desert. Ivy-like patterns of white-blue curled under his eyelids, deep gold veins etching everywhere in sight. Distantly, he knew he should be in pain. At the very least, his arm should feel like it was being stabbed. But it was all so far away, and he didn’t want to find out if it’d come back if he got closer. There wasn’t a lot of Dark around. But the Force felt almost sterile. Focused on one thing.

The bond still hurt, though. He could feel his Buir. She was close by, radiating protectiveness. Someone must be doing something then. He couldn’t find the energy to try and help. Where Ben used to be was a jagged landscape. The bond had looked like a rose-gold durasteel cable between the three of them, made up of millions of tiny little threads of connection and love and trust. His brother’s place looked kind of like when a ship got torn in half, but more organic. It was bloody, sharp edges cutting the soft places inside Anakin’s shields. It looked like it’d be infected. He wished he knew what bacta for the soul looked like and where to find some.

He felt around, still disconnected.

“Hey, Silas.” The voice was familiar, but he couldn’t quite place it. Whoever it was, her Force signature looked like a little nebula, full of colors and new stars.

“They said if I talked to you, you might hear me. Ejasa had to go talk with Master Yoda again and Master Jinn had to go with her. I think it was about Ben, probably.”

One of the stars in the nebula let out a gold line, and Anakin felt warm. He hadn’t realized that he was cold. He pushed something back, hoping that whoever this was, she knew he was grateful.

“I can’t believe I ever thought you were Force Null. You hit like a speeder.” She paused. The nebula dimmed a bit.

“I’m so sorry.” There were tears in her voice and everything felt colder. “This is my fault. If you hadn’t had to protect me, you wouldn’t be like this. If I hadn’t brought us to Geonosis, none of this would’ve happened at all! Master Jinn said. He says. He says that I have to experience it. That I have to acknowledge it. That I have to figure out a way to let it go. I know fear and guilt are paths to the Dark side. But you and Ben. It’s. This. How am I supposed to let this go? I almost got you ki-” she cut off in a sob.

“And. And before that. I’d never. I’d been on dangerous missions before. But I’d never killed someone. And now. I don’t know. I can’t get the feeling of death in my crystal out of my head. And you almost killed your brother to protect me. And it’s my fault!”

The nebula had dimmed so much that most of the stars looked dead. She was sobbing and all Anakin wanted to do was figure out some way to help. But everything was so far away. Frustration rose. But he didn’t have room for that. He reached out, searching for something, some way to help.

One of the colors came to him. It was a deep sort of blue that looked like light shining through glass. It was the same color as one of the dust clouds in her nebula. He pulled it to him and pushed it at her, trying to be gentler this time.

“Blue?” She sounded confused through her tears.

He had a feeling that he wasn’t supposed to mess with the golden veins that threaded their way around him, but he wasn’t good at following directions anyway. He pulled at one of them, feeling the warmth-safety-protection that they were feeding him and offered it to her.

She made a surprised noise and the nebula seemed to brighten a little bit. The little two-way golden path was just enough for him to send her a message.

_It’s not your fault. I don’t blame you. And if Ben-if Ben were here, he’d say the same thing._

///

“He’s awake! He’s awake! Master, Ejasa! He’s awake!” Ahsoka ran into the room they’d been discussing things with Yoda in at hyper speed.

“I was talking to him and he talked to me through the Force! He’s awake!”

Without another word, Ejasa bolted out of the room.

Qui-Gon examined the training bond and his padawan’s Force presence. To his surprise, there wasn’t any darkness anywhere. He would’ve had to be Force Null not to notice the Darkness marbled through the boy’s Force signature. But here Ahsoka was, having talked to him through the Force, with not even a hint of a shadow in sight. That wasn’t what he’d expected at all.

///

Shmi stood outside Ben’s room staring through the transparisteel. He was still in a medically induced coma, still on Force suppressants, still out of her reach. She was trying to figure out some sort of plan. She had to figure their way out of the Order’s grip. She wouldn’t let them hold her family captive. If she had to fight them alone, she’d do it. But where could they get Ben the help he’d need? The first time, they’d nursed him back to health. He’d practically been holding in his guts with his hands. Through some miracle, he’d pulled through. Now, though. This was something they needed a mind healer for. A Force Sensitive mind healer who could handle everything that came with what had been done to Ben. And they didn’t even know what had made him this way!

Obi-Wan. It was strange hearing that name for Ben. He’d never remembered his own name. Broken fractals of his life before and enough about the Jedi through the training that had been seared into his brain to keep their family away from Coruscant and the Order until they could all hide well enough to avoid detection. But she had a name for who he’d been before. She had the faces of people who’d clearly at least cared for him enough to remember him for so many years. And she came up against the question of if it was Obi-Wan who woke up, would they be losing Ben?

The idea burned to even think about. But it was possible.

“Sir?”

She turned. One of the clones stood in front of her. Eyes that were a bit more amber than Fett’s, a face that was a bit more angular, and white blond hair. His Force presence though, that she recognized. She wondered how Fett would feel knowing that one of the men he’d helped make was at least as strong with the Force as Ben.

“Hello, Rex.” 

He was startled that she knew who he was before his eyes dropped to the lightsaber on her belt and a sense of understanding came through the Force.

“Sir. The men and I were talking. He saved a lot of our brothers on that transport. From what we’ve heard, none of this was his fault. If there’s anything we can do to help you, just let one of the men know.”

She was struck by the kindness of these men. Clearly they’d inherited the best parts of Fett. This couldn’t stand. The state of what they’d been forced into, forced to do. She couldn’t let that stand either. The Republic, the Hutts, the Zygerrians. So many slavers everywhere. There were so many of his brothers.

“Thank you, so much.” She looked around before using the Force to look for recorders or holo-cams. One of Ani’s tricks. Using it hurt as much as talking to him had.

“I hope you know that you can ask us for anything as well. You helped save my sons. The Jedi may have been the ones that brought you, but it was your medic’s hands that helped them, your men’s protection that kept them safe from the battle outside the hanger,” she said. She felt his shock clearly. Had no one bothered to teach him to shield? Had no one bothered to teach him anything at all?

“That’s not necessary, sir. But I’ll let them know.”

“Ejasa. Just call me Ejasa. I’m not a part of the command.”

His eyes dropped to her ‘saber again. “Sir?”

“Not every Force User or person who uses a lightsaber is a Jedi or a Sith. I am definitely no Sith, but I’m no Jedi either.”

“Right.” He looked through the window at Ben.

“Has anyone taught you to shield?” The question slipped out. His emotions were palpable. At least to her. She was amazed none of the Jedi had said anything yet.

“We learned basic non-Force shielding on Kamino.”

“That’s not what I meant. You’re projecting a lot. I was wondering if you knew?”

Fear flashed through, bitter as uncooked herbs on her tongue.

“It’s alright. I won’t tell anyone. If you’d like I can show you how to hide. It’s not something the Jedi know how to do, and it takes some practice. But once you’ve got it no one will be able to pick up anything from you.” This was something she could do. Just giving them the ability to hide could give them more control. If she was reading Rex right, he’d take this and run with it as soon as he figured it out.

“We’re not allowed to learn anything about the Force. That’s Jedi business.” He was bleeding discomfort.

“I want you to look at me,” she said. His lips pursed.

“Look at me with every sense you have. Stretch out. That piece of you, that thing in your chest, in your mind. Let it come out, and look at me.”

He was a very evenly mixed presence. She could feel Light for the most part as he looked at her, Force presence battering her shields with the finesse of every beginner. But she had a feeling he’d be someone who needed the Dark the same way as she and her sons needed it. He was a soldier. The Light was an ally, but the Dark was the part of the Force that understood what things like slavery and war did to people. For a man born into both? She had very little doubt that if he were allowed to seek out his balance on his own, that’s what it would look like.

“You don’t feel the same.” His voice was uncertain; but his presence was rooted in the surety of truth that the Force gave everyone when they listened to it.

“I’m not the same. I’m not a Jedi, and I’m not going to turn you in to whoever would destroy you for something that’s as much a part of you as your personality. This technique can help you hide.”

He hesitated, and she felt his presence ebb and flow like an ocean.

“Alright.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mando’a Translations
> 
> Demagolka-Somemone who commits atrocities. A real-life monster.
> 
> The moral of this particular chapter is: no matter who you are, never pick a fight with an angry mom and think you’re going to win. Force Sensitive clones or bust! Personally, I’ve always held a bit of a headcanon that the clones who weren’t Force Sensitive enough to have crazy powers were allowed to survive in the original canon. So you had some that were just sensitive enough to know that bad things were coming or to get that one shot. However, in the land of fanfic, I am allowed to shamelessly indulge in my love for Force wielding clones. Poor Ahsoka has been through the ringer. She got her hug, but she will be getting more. Rest assured. Everyone will get their hugs! This first two parts of this particular chapter had a lot of the elements that were the foundation of this fic, so this chapter was something I’ve been looking forward to.


	6. The Temple

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Ben wakes up, arguments are had, and Shmi inspires a scary amount of loyalty

Qui-Gon stood by the bed. Today was the day. Healer Che had declared that Ben was to be allowed to wake up; and not even the Council could argue with Vokara when she decided on something for a patient. Ejasa was standing next to him, presence as glassy as ever. Silas had thrown a fuss at not being allowed to be there when Ben woke up. But given what had happened, Healer Che had felt it best that he and Ahsoka be kept out of his sight. A consortium of clones were also present. Ostensibly, they were there to take Ben down if needed. In actual fact, all of the clones who’d been in the group they’d led to the hanger or the transport that’d brought the others there had refused to leave. And what that meant was finding any number of “official” duties that meant they had to stay for at least another day. The Captain in particular had been following Shmi like a padawan and standing guard over Ben or Silas in equal measure.

Healer Che shut off the IV drip and stepped back. When nothing happened, she turned to the assembled crowd. “It’s going to take a while for him to wake up. Instant waking up from a coma like this is stuff for the holodramas.”

Quinlan snorted in the corner. He’d spent a lot of time in the last few days in the Council Chambers or in Ejasa’s quarters briefing them on what he’d been able to find out. The Kaminoans had told him a lot about the production of the clones and their training and conditioning. Most disturbingly, he’d found a series of holos that showed Ben demonstrating all of the katas and exercises for all of the different lightsaber forms. It was the only physical evidence he’d found that Ben had been trained on Kamino. There were files referencing “Hibir” like Ahsoka and Silas had said Dooku called him. But that was word of mouth too. And none of it was substantial. It was only in reference to the training and education procedures used for the clones.

The Council had kept trying to get Ejasa to tell them something, anything about how Ben had come to be with them. About where she and her son had gotten their lightsaber crystals. About a million different things. She closed up tighter than a clam and hadn’t said a word to the Council after they’d tried to lock Silas and Ben away from her. Qui-Gon was shocked that she hadn’t picked up both of them and just left after that particular incident. Shaak and Plo had been elected to be present for Ben’s awakening. At the risk of sounding biased, Qui-Gon thought they were the best choices. It seemed Ejasa thought so too.

That was the other thing the Council had tried to force Ejasa to do. Take off Silas’s and her own mask. The two had fought the idea like cornered loth cats, Silas in particular. Ejasa for her part just refused to even entertain the conversation when they tried it with her. Qui-Gon had to admit to a certain level of satisfaction watching her turn the Council’s policy of silence back onto them. Another thing that wasn’t becoming of an older Jedi Master, but the truth nonetheless.

After what felt like both a very long and very short bit of waiting, Ben started to stir.

///

The first thing Ben noticed was how many people were around him. The second was that he was on Force suppressors. The third thing he noticed was the pounding fuzziness in his head and the lethargy running though his entire body. The fourth thing he noticed was how dry his mouth was. And the fifth was that he was very much still alive. His ability to remember things seemed to be in an even worse state than usual, but he remembered flashes of what was important. Dooku saying the words that had ripped his mind and memories away from him in a torrent of white hot, overwhelming agony. Attacking Anakin and almost taking off his hand. Breaking his arm.

The guilt was a live thing, hollowing out his chest and settling deep inside. He couldn’t even think about anything for the horror of it all. He’d known he’d been brainwashed. It was obvious after the accidental trigger misfires when the Skywalkers had first taken him in. But he hadn’t known how deep it went. Hadn’t been able to remember that sequence. It was all still there! Eleven years after he’d accidentally come upon his freedom in the form of a tiny family that didn’t have any reason to help someone like him, and it was all still there. And he’d almost killed his brother.

He could only be grateful he hadn’t tried to Force choke him. But that wasn’t any better. Ben knew those injuries. He’d had them himself. At least six weeks for his arm and neck. At least two for his wrist. And that was without the Force Exhaustion from throwing Ben into the wall. Sadness tried to rise up, but Ben pushed that back without even giving it the dignity of consideration.

He didn’t deserve to feel sad about whatever it was Shmi and Anakin decided to do.

He opened his eyes and immediately had to close them again. Everything was a too-big too-bright blur that made it feel like his head had been cracked open all over again.

“Sorry about that. I’ve turned the lights down. Can you open your eyes again?”

The voice was feminine and had a Ryl accent. From what Ben could guess, she was a Jedi. Where else would he have been taken after that.

He opened his eyes, and a blue blur was in front of him.

“That’s good. Can you tell me your name?”

Ben tried to answer, but the air caught in his throat.

“Nurse, water.”

“Alright, sir. Slow sips.”

After a few of the dictated slow sips, he gave his answer.

“Ben Abiik-Kemir.”

“Good. What year is it and who is the current Chancellor?”

The series of questions continued.

Then a battery of neurological tests.

Then a battery of psychological evaluations, for which Healer Che had forcibly ejected everyone but the Mind Healer from the room, including herself. When Healer Zydo hit on somewhere in the tens of questions that Ben couldn’t answer, he paused.

“How long did you live without being able to recall any part of your past?”

Ben sighed. Time was always a bit tricky, and the fuzziness in his head from the concussion and drugs wasn’t helping. “If I’m remembering right, it was only about a year and a half of nothing. Some things came back. Small things mostly. I knew I was from Coruscant. I thought maybe I was an orphan. I couldn’t remember my parents. Whatever Dooku did jumbled what I could remember. It’s always out of order anyway, but this. I’m sorry, but I can’t figure out the order of anything.”

“That’s quite alright. I’m more concerned about the effects of your inability to remember on your state of mind as a whole. It’s one thing to live with memory issues, and from what you’ve been able to tell me, it sounds like you’d adjusted to that relatively well considering you didn’t have access to any kind of support outside of your family. What I’ve been brought in here to speak with you about is quite another.”

Ben forced himself to keep eye contact with the Togruta healer.

“Whatever the Council has to say, I’m a healer first. And that means that anything you say to me will be kept between the two of us here unless it constitutes a real risk to yourself or others.”

“Healer Zydo. My very existence constitutes as a serious risk to others. These triggers are in my head and I have no control over whether they get used or not. I almost killed my brother. Everything I am and say is something you should report. If not for your own sake than for everyone else’s here.”

“Healer Che and I have gone over both Padawan Tano’s account and Silas’s. We believe that it’s more than likely possible to remove those triggers. It’d be a long process, but possible. And both of us have already volunteered to make that happen. Believe me when I say that Healer Che is more than capable of ensuring that the Council allows us to remove those triggers if you want us too. Any of the others you and your family can tell us about as well, for that matter.”

“They’ll never let that happen. I remember enough after the trigger to know that if I were set off again, I would know every single mission I was sent on. I know the Order knew about me. I had enough flashes of battles against Jedi to know that they at least considered me a serial killer. And they’re not wrong.”

“Do you feel responsible for those deaths?”

“Of course I feel responsible! I can’t even remember all of them! My hands are so bloody I don't know how I haven’t turned everything I touch red. And now to find out that I used to _be_ one of them…”

“I can’t say that I agree that you were responsible for the deaths of those people. However, consider the removal of the triggers as a safeguard. If they are removed, even if you are responsible, you can’t ever be forced to do anything against your will. There won’t be any more violence against your will. It also may improve your memory issues. It’s entirely possible that the trigger is being used to block your access to your memories.”

Ben scrubbed his hands over his face and looked down at them, thinking.

He wanted the triggers out of his head. He’d always wanted the triggers out of his head. He knew that he could be put back into asset mode, but he couldn’t remember how. The idea of being able to know, for certain, that he couldn’t ever be made to harm anyone else close to him again was very tempting. Despite the fact that it was a Jedi offer, he couldn’t think of a reason to say no. Even Shmi had seemed to trust Healer Che well enough; and Force knew how difficult it was to get Shmi to trust anyone who lived the way the Jedi did.

He would spend the rest of his life paying for what he’d done. The least he could do was make sure he wasn’t going to hurt the victims again.

“Okay.”

///

Qui-Gon looked at the blank mask covering Silas’s face. From Temple gossip, which was always suspect, there had been a fierce debate raging in the Council about what was to be done with the boy. And Qui-Gon could see why. Now that he wasn’t hiding, his sheer presence in the Force was blinding. Ahsoka had told him a few of the things she’d seen Silas do as well. He was powerful. And had already been corrupted by the Dark side. His presence did feel like a supergiant star. But within the corona of that star, and going all the way down to its core, were streaks of Dark cold patches. In fact, Qui-Gon thought he felt like he was an even mix between the Light and the Dark.

The thing was, he wasn’t acting like the Sith. He wasn’t half mad and power hungry. He was violent and clearly dangerous. But he didn’t attack for no reason and didn’t seem to take any pleasure in the pain he caused. And he’d saved Ahsoka’s life. He’d gotten himself hurt like this to protect her and his brother. He’d been willing to let his brother kill him to protect her. Even halfway comatose and as little more than a ghost in the Force, he’d tried to make sure she knew it wasn’t her fault. And his Darkness hadn’t corrupted Ahsoka in the slightest. She was still firmly rooted in the Light. Despite Dark emotions, she didn’t even have a single hint of a shadow in sight. It went against everything Qui-Gon had ever known about the Dark Side of the Force.

“So. Do you have a question? Or something?” He was propped up in the bed, arm in a casted brace with bacta wrappings and bandages covering it. Qui-Gon could see the still-red bruising on the underside of his chin, right at the top of his throat. Talking sounded painful.

“How are you doing?”

Qui-Gon caught a flash of bitter amusement.

“About as well as you’d expect. At least the pudding is good. Better than the last place.”

“Last place?” What kind of lives did these people lead?

“Please. This isn’t even on the top ten list of injuries I’ve had. The arm is pretty bad, but I’ll take that over being punched in the throat. I mean. I was kind of kneed in the throat, but I can actually talk, so. Better.”

“You have a basis for comparison?” Healer Che had said he was, at most, in his early twenties. Qui-Gon couldn’t help but be a little horrified. He had a thought that that was what Silas wanted.

“I know what’s worse. And believe me, besides head injuries, anything to do with your neck is the absolute worst. Case in point: whiplash sucks,” he said making a vague motion towards his neck. “You know, I’m not allowed to turn my head? Healer Che was about a step away from beating me up worse than I already am for that.”

“And your mother is okay with all of this?”

“She wasn’t. Not really. But we live a certain kind of lifestyle. Injuries happen. None of us are dead yet; so either we’re really good, the Force likes us, or it’s some combination of both. Any way it goes, we’re still here.”

“The Force does work in mysterious ways.” Qui-Gon wasn’t quite sure what kind of gundark nest he’d stepped into when he’d agreed to talk to the boy.

“Did you have an actual question?”

He either came by this naturally, or he was messing with Qui-Gon. And Qui-Gon couldn’t figure out which one it was.

“Who trained you?”

“I’m not a Sith if that’s what you’re asking. Whoever the demagolka’s master is, I’d rather space them both than let either of them touch me.”

The unspoken accusation rang heavy in the air. Ejasa had heard them discussing Dooku, and Qui-Gon had little doubt that she’d made sure Silas was aware. Why the Council had thought that sending in someone who’d been trained by the man who’d enslaved Silas’s bother then ordered him to kill him was a good idea, Qui-Gon would never know. Why he’d agreed to this was an even bigger mystery.

“What was Ben like when you knew him?” The question was so unexpected that it gave Qui-Gon sympathetic whiplash.

“It was a long time ago,” he hedged.

“Yeah. So that means he was different. And he might remember some of that. I want to know who I might be talking to when Healer Che lets me see him.”

Talk about Obi-Wan. Qui-Gon hadn’t talked about Obi-Wan so much since he was still. Well. Since he was still Obi-Wan.

“How about if I tell you some stories about Obi-Wan, you tell me some stories about Ben?” Qui-Gon wanted to know what the man Obi-Wan had turned into was like. The Council could try and weasel answers out of Silas on their own. Qui-Gon already dealt with these kinds of antics with Ahsoka. He was too old to deal with them from someone else.

“Deal.”

And Silas launched into a story about a cantina, a sabacc game, and a Twi’lek dancer who’d destroyed one of the Hutt’s empires for Ben.

///

Ben hadn’t expected any of the clones to be allowed to visit. With the first few sessions of trigger removal, he was starting to be able to remember more of his time on Kamino. At least now it didn’t feel like his head was being blown up with liquid tabana every time he tried to remember something. Just like it had a lightsaber through it. And that was a vast improvement. This man looked the same as the others, obviously, but the differences were in the way he held himself. Ben could see the training, the bearing, the confidence that marked an officer of some sort. And a well trained one at that. He’d hidden his recognition well in front of everyone. But now, when the security recorders had been disabled, he wasn’t even pretending not to recognize Ben’s face.

“Commander Cody, sir,” he said.

“Ben. I’m not. You shouldn’t. I’m not in charge.”

“With respect, you were who they used to show us what lightsabers looked like and could do. You were the first face me and my brothers saw who used the Force. You were the one that they based our combat training on.”

“They used that on you?” Flashes of a holocron and constant, never-ending drills passed in front of Ben’s eyes. That’d been happening a lot more frequently since they’d started removing the triggers.

“Not the triggers, sir. But the physical training. Yes.”

If they had used the physical training, there was no way that there weren’t triggers buried in the clones somewhere. If only for insurance.

“Are you sure?”

“Sir?”

“Are you sure that there aren’t any triggers?”

“I-” He hesitated, looking like he couldn’t quite believe that he was even contemplating it.

“The longnecks would never let anybody off Kamino that they couldn’t guarantee had an off switch.”

Cody looked stricken.

Good. There was hope for them.

///

Anakin could already tell this was going to go well. The entire Jedi Council had assembled and insisted that his Buir, Jinn, Ahsoka, Padmé, and he all be there. Healer Che had looked like she was going to Force choke them when they’d made her move him. It’d been a week and a half, and he’d been started on PT, but he was still much weaker than either of them liked. Captain Rex had also looked more than a little pissed. Again, sometimes Anakin’s Buir scared him. There had been a rotating series of four men, including Captain Rex, who had taken to guarding Anakin’s door while pretending they weren’t guarding Anakin’s door. They were very efficient. He was impressed. It also wasn’t something that he wanted to examine that he’d felt safer once he’d figured out what they were doing (which had taken an embarrassingly long time).

What Anakin found the most interesting was what Rex’s presence looked like as he was learning to hide like the rest of them. What Anakin had seen from him beforehand was a massive, hurricane like storm cell with hundreds of different colors streaked through the clouds that changed depending on what he was talking about or doing. As he learned to hide, it was like the storm was being put behind thicker and thicker panes of transparisteel. As incomplete as it was, it was really cool to see what it looked like before someone figured out all the parts.

Speaking of Force presences, the Council Chambers were so Light, filled with so much white and gold and yellow, so _packed_ with people drawing only on the one side in such a tight space that it hurt his eyes to look at it all. Strong shields covered all of the Masters and while each type of shield looked a little different, their presences all felt so similar. What he really wanted to do was pull a cloak of Dark around himself and cool it all down, just a little bit. Maybe make it a little dimmer so he could actually see straight. But as impulsive as he may be, pulling on the Dark in a place full of people who assumed any touch of Darkness at all meant you were irredeemably Fallen. Even he could see that was a bad idea.

So like he said. He could see how well this was all going to go. Nobody was going to lose their temper or get Force kicked out a window. It’d all be fine!

Somebody was going to die today.

“To the matter at hand. Healer Che and Healer Zydo have been working closely with Obi-, Ben, and they believe that they will be able to root out all of the triggers if given enough time,” said Master Koon. “I have also examined him myself and I believe that Padawan Tano and Mr. Abiik-Kemir were correct when they said that this was the result of those triggers having been activated. That being true, I must ask how the Count was able to find these triggers. Mr. Abiik-Kemir, you said that it sounded like he hadn’t known that Hibir was Obi-Wan, or Ben. Correct?”

“Yes.” Actually, Plo Koon’s signature was interesting. Instead of all the light colors and serene patterns, Plo Koon had light metallic finish colors that mimicked the patterns on his mask in curls of fog and smoke with light shifting through their banks. It was kind of beautiful in a way.

“Master Qui-Gon, what did he tell you about this weapon. You said that he hadn’t mentioned a name, but did he tell you anything useful?” Anakin wasn’t sure who was asking the question. He thought her name might start with an A.

“Outside of the fact that there was a weapon, no. I am more concerned about the prospect of a Sith in the Senate.”

“Master Jinn, while we cannot deny that there is a Sith Lord, I believe this Council, or at least somebody in the Order would’ve noticed if they were in the senate.”

“You didn’t notice us.” Buir’s voice brought Windu’s lecture to a standstill.

“That is true, Mace. O-Ben right under our noses and Ms. Abiik-Kemir and Silas, both of whom are strong in the Force right in front of us and until they let us see them, we were none the wiser. And they don’t have the kind of power an important senator has. I’m sure Senator Amidala can tell you what kind of power even a senator from a small system has. If we take all of this into account, then isn’t it at least possible that Dooku was telling the truth,” Jinn asked.

“It’s true Master Jedi. Even a minor senator holds a lot of power in the right circles.” Padmé’s face was downcast as she spoke. Apparently Representative Binks had pushed through some sort of legislature that gave the Chancellor the emergency power to form a military. Her vote was useless.

Anakin felt bad for her, but it went deeper than that. Something about everything that had happened in the Senate felt like something had fallen right into the place someone wanted it to. To quote Ben, the trap had been sprung.

“I believe the best course of action would be to investigate both these claims and the circumstances around the clones on Kamino. Master Jinn and Knight Vos’s investigations turned up a number of alarming questions.” The Togruta Master said.

“Clouded by the Dark Side, the Force is. Difficult to see the truth is. Better, perhaps, it would be to see if Obi-Wan remembers the Sith Lord.”

“Master Yoda, if there is a Sith Lord in the Senate, then we don’t have time to wait for Kenobi, Ben, to remember. Healer Zydo has even said that he’s not sure he’ll ever remember everything. We must act,” said one of the other masters.

“Patience! If act too swiftly we do, then to ruin it may bring us. Proof we must have.”

Anakin just barely resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Ben would be so proud.

What more kind of proof did they need? The finger had been pointed by someone who was being trained by the Sith Lord. Anakin had based entire missions off of way less solid stuff than that.

“Master Jinn, can you please restate what CT-7567 told you about their training regarding Jedi?”

“With respect, Master Rancisis, if you're asking about anything the Captain had to say, wouldn’t it be best to ask the man himself?”

“Fine, fine, Padawan Tano, please bring 7567 here,” said Mace.

Anakin rankled at the number and he felt his Buir, Jinn, Ahsoka, and Padmé all doing the same.

“Yes, Master Windu.” Ahsoka gave them all a small wince of apology on her way out.

This was going better than Anakin expected, honestly. He’d halfway been waiting for them to say that they were never going to see the light of day again. Of course, they still might say that. But it seemed like they were at least listening-adjacent. Kind of like him.

“While Padawan Tano is bringing 7567, can we discuss Silas Abiik-Kemir?”

Anakin snapped his head towards (apparently) Master Rancisis. Too fast. The soft tissue screamed.

“We have already decided that we’re not training him,” Windu said, looking gingerly at Buir. There was a story there. A story that Anakin really wanted to hear.

“Yes, but he is steeped in the Dark side. With his power, we cannot just allow him to walk away from this Order.”

This had been what he was afraid of.

“There is no law that states that you can hold someone captive because of a philosophical disagreement!” Padmé said, jumping in with both feet before Anakin could even get a word out. Huh. He hadn’t expected that.

“Senator Amidala, the Dark Side and the Light aren’t just philosophical or religious disagreements. Historically, Dark-Siders are only after power and they don’t care who they harm or what balance they upset to gain that power,” said Rancisis.

“From my perspective, they’ve helped you, agreed to be interrogated without legal representation, allowed you to hold them without their permission, and cooperated when you separated them from part of their family. If they’re after power, that’s a strange way to try and get it. Not to mention that the only reason they’re in this mess in the first place is because a member of your Order brought them to the Chancellor’s attention.” She shot an apologetic look at Jinn when she finished.

“Senator Amidala, this Order is legally allowed to hold Sith in custody,” said the Master whose name Anakin thought began with an A.

“Master Gallia, one of your own Order, one of your own Council said they weren’t Sith! If you are going to attempt to hold the Abiik-Kemirs here against their will, I’ll have no choice but to give them political asylum status on Naboo. Member of the Republic or not, Naboo will not stand for a galaxy where people can be given a life sentence for a difference in religion.”

Anakin could feel Buir’s shock mirroring his own through the bond. Neither of them had been expecting to not go into this fight alone.

“I must agree with Senator Amidala, Masters. In my own interactions with the Abiik-Kemirs as well as My padawan’s I have noticed a sharp and distinct difference between their Darkness and the Darkness of a Sith. We’d be foolish not to at least consider that we may not know as much about the Dark Side as we believe we do,” Jinn stepped in.

Anakin had to be hallucinating. He was still in that weird Forcescape he’d been in while he was in a coma. That was the only explanation.

“Master Jinn, you yourself stated that the Abiik-Kemirs were dangerous,” another one of the Council members chimed in.

“And in that same statement I said that we were equally dangerous. Everyone in this room carries a weapon that can cut through almost every known substance in the galaxy and is the bearer of extraordinary power from the Force. We are all dangerous.” Master Jinn sounded almost exasperated.

Where had all this come from?

“Regardless, they are still Force Users, all three of whom are deeply connected to the Dark Side. One of them killed at least fifteen Jedi over a seven year span, and those are just the ones we know about. And might I remind you that Ben Abiik-Kemir was once a member of this Order, Obi-Wan Kenobi,” said another Council Member.

“A member who you declared dead. On public record. Unless he choses to reclaim that identity, you can’t make any legal claim over him using that identity.” The motes and clouds of Light swirled around Padmé as she spoke.

“Masters?” Ahsoka’s voice shattered the growing tension in the chambers.

“Bring him in, Padawan Tano.” Plo Koon’s voice was gentle.

“Padawan Tano, you, Senator Amidala, and the Abiik-Kemirs are dismissed.”

“Yes, Master Windu.”

Padmé and his Buir flanked Anakin as they walked out of the Council chambers. He could feel the roaring fire of Padmé’s anger and the raging storm of Buir’s. His own rage was covered by a thick layer of shock. He would’ve never, in all the possibilities of that particular talk he’d thought of, expected for anyone to defend them. Much less a Republic senator and a Jedi Master. What was their angle? What could they get out of defending his family like that?

_The problem with this galaxy is that not enough people help each other_. The words circled inside of his head. What were the odds that two people in their position would do that? The clones, the men. They made sense. They were the same as people Anakin had been around his whole life. But those two? The reality of it felt like trying to fit together the wrong size puzzle pieces.

///

Qui-Gon was disappointed, but sadly not surprised. Very little else had been done before he and the Captain had been dismissed. Now, he sat with the current clone guard outside of Silas’s room staring at the damning announcement over the Order’s internal communications network. He hadn’t expected his or Senator Amidala’s argument’s to work. But he’d hoped they’d argue long enough for the Abiik-Kemirs to work their way loose. Instead, they’d finally taken action the way he’d been saying they needed to for years. It was too bad, really, that they’d finally listened on a decision like this.

There, floating on the screen, was the message that meant Qui-Gon was going to have to do something drastic:

_As of today, the High Council has ruled that the Abiik-Kemir family will be required to stay in the Temple pending further testing and investigation into their use of the Force. In addition, they will be required to be on Force suppressants unless otherwise indicated by a qualified member of the High Council._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mando’a Translations
> 
> Demagolka-Someone who commits atrocities. A real-life monster.  
> Buir-Parent
> 
> Important Council talk time. Denial is Palpatine’s most powerful ally, I swear. Padmé could eat the entire Council and still have time for the rest of the Senate if she were given half a chance. Anakin is a skeptical person when it comes to anyone in a position of power, a lesson taught by Shmi, Tatooine, and Ben. Rex is 100% a ringleader. That protective energy will absolutely be returned, these are Skywalkers we’re talking about. You know, the not fallen, not driven crazy by Sith Lords Skywalkers.


	7. And Then There Was Patience

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which rifts develop, choices are made, and there is dissonance

The first step had been to play along. The feeling of Anakin and Ben slipping away in the Force had been heart rending, and she had felt as helpless as a loth kitten as the Force eroded away. But Shmi was nothing if not patient. As soon as the topic had come up, she’d known they were going to have to force their way out of the Temple and off Coruscant. With everybody safe and protected, they had nothing to keep them from doing what they had to to get free. But if the Jedi were suspicious, they wouldn’t have any room to move. Anakin had fought back, loud and as dynamic as he could be (and those injuries broke her heart every time she saw them), but it was a token protest and everyone knew that.

The next step had been doing the observing she’d been too busy fighting for her family with the Council to do in the first place. Anakin was too sick from the Force suppressors and too injured from before to help. Ben was under far too close of observation, even if he trusted himself enough. So it came down to Shmi. And here was the thing. It wasn’t only the Force that made her so good at remaining unobserved. She had been fully capable of disappearing with any manner of Force suppressants since they’d started their battle in the Outer Rim. The Hutts are as cunning as they are vicious and anything less than being prepared for anything was asking for death.

The Temple had shockingly bad security, is what Shmi had discovered up to this point. It was wide open and as long as nobody projected any ill intent, the Jedi didn’t seem to care. The only places that had any serious security were the Healer’s Wing, the Council Chambers, the Créch, and the Archives. Unfortunately, one of those was where both of her sons were being kept. Anakin had managed to slip her somebody’s security chain code, but it hadn’t led to anything for Temple Security. There were a few options for getting them out of there, but all of that required resources she didn’t have.

She also had an obligation to Rex. The Captain had tried to tell her it wasn’t her fault. And he was right. But she’d promised to teach him, and she was going to do that. It would be far more complicated given both of their positions, but Shmi was a woman of her word. She would figure it out. He’d continued to leave guards-who-weren’t-guards around both Ben and Anakin’s door, now under the guise of guarding them for the Council. He’d picked up on the lesson of how to bend his words shockingly quick. It was a point of pride.

By the end of their third week in the Temple, Shmi had reached a few conclusions. One was that she liked Coruscant even less than she liked Nal Hutta. Two was that the Jedi Temple badly needed to update their security. Three was that their cyber-security was even worse than their normal security. Four was that being this close to so many politicians made her feel more unsafe than her younger son’s piloting. Five was that the Jedi were almost definitely operating outside Republic law in keeping them trapped. And while Shmi trusted Republic law for protection about as far as she could Force throw it, that meant something. Six was that someone with a lot of power in the Senate was trying to force their way into Temple affairs when it came to her family, and she had a nasty feeling who that might be. Seven was that whatever plan she wound up going with, it was going to be a long haul and that meant that Anakin was going to need medical care when they got out. And Eight was that a war was brewing and while the Jedi might be looking into where the clones were coming from, it was clear from the way Jinn looked at Rex and his men when he came to visit that the Jedi were going to use them in the meantime anyway.

On the subject of Jinn, he was someone Shmi was having a difficult time figuring out. He’d defended them to the Council’s faces and had been open abut the fact that he disagreed with every decision the Council had made about her family except for the decision to offer care. But she’d heard in the annals of the Temple that he’d opposed the Council on a lot of things over the years; more and more as the years after the Naboo Crisis dragged on. It was a question of what the man’s beliefs were, and never had Shmi been so aware of how blind she was without the Force.

Emotions had always come easy to her. She could read people’s states better than any of the others. After learning how to tap into it, it’d been like she gained another sense. Jinn had as tight of shields as any other Jedi, but Shmi was as finely tuned to emotions as the most well-made sensors. Shields meant nothing to her when it came to emotions in the Force. The were as plain as reading a piece of flimsi. Without it, reading Jinn had become an impossible task.

Which is why it caught her off guard when he brought her to see Ben.

“You’re his mother. If I can see him, it’s only right that you can see him too.” Was all he had offered as an explanation. She’d been suspicious, but ultimately, it’d been two weeks since he’d been woken up, and she hadn’t been allowed to see him since then. So she’d taken a calculated risk. And now here she was. And there he was, looking every bit as guilty and miserable as he had the first year he’d come to stay with them.

“Ejasa. I-” he cut off. He wouldn’t look her in the eye.

She thinned her lips, walked around the side of the bed, sat down, and wrapped her arms around him. The levy broke and he started to sob into her chest. Words tried to form out of his cries, but nothing had any shape. She wanted to be able to feel the Force, if only to talk in the way that made sense. But wants and wishes were for when she had the time to think about them, and this was not that time. So she held him instead and let him cry out everything he’d been holding in since she’d last seen him. (No, she didn’t count when he’d woken up. He hadn’t even been allowed to speak to anyone but the healer.)

“It wasn’t your fault. I know that you still blame yourself. But neither of us will ever place that blame on your head. That belongs to Dooku and whoever did this to you. Ni kyr’tayl gai sa’ad. That hasn’t changed. However long it takes you to accept that, and see your way through, we’ll still be here when you can come back to us.”

His reddened eyes looked up at her. She cast a glance around the room. Nobody there, and Rex had disabled the recorders himself. She took off her mask and looked him in the eye. The misery and guilt had lined his forehead and the shadows under his eyes were even more pronounced than she’d realized. Another piece of her heart chipped away. They should’ve been there for the triggers getting removed. If for nothing else than consistency. Or to have this conversation earlier before the guilt had rooted itself so deep.

Another gift from the Council.

The time was up far too quickly. Her mask was on and she was back on her way to her room. At least she’d been given the privacy of her own room. She didn’t fool herself into thinking that it wasn’t monitored. Now that she’d seen Ben she needed to start getting a workable plan into action. A long game wasn’t the strategy she wanted to use, but there wasn’t any real choice. She was capable of making a long plan work. Jedi security really was awful.

///

Getting back into the Jedi Temple after her argument with the Council had required more politicking than Padmé would’ve ever believed. Master Qui-Gon and Ahsoka had kept her informed of what was being done with and to the Abiik-Kemirs and every new report made her blood boil. They were completely outside Republic law, but just compliant enough that if Padmé were to try and do anything now, they could twist it against her with the right position. Padmé had not been in politics for as long as she had without a healthy respect for the danger of underestimating anyone. Even supposedly benevolent monks.

Ejasa was much thinner than she had been the last time Padmé had seen her. Padmé was appalled. Ahsoka had told her what Force suppressants did in the long term, but seeing the evidence was a different story. Where the air around Ejasa had always felt warm, alive, and comfortable, it was cold and sterile. All the presence that Padmé realized had been Ejasa spreading herself out in the Force (however it was that worked) was gone. And it left Ejasa looking and feeling older than she was.

“I’ve been working with the Queen and our legal representatives to give you a legitimate way off of this planet. You absolutely do not have to stay on Naboo once you’re there. There is precedent for Naboo offering Political sanctuary to people being persecuted for their religion. I know it’s not an exact parallel, but it’s a good foundation for getting you the maneuvering power you need to get out of here. Unfortunately, I can’t offer more than my word that we’ll let you go. There’s nothing concrete and down on flimsi yet, and without that there’s nothing solid to prove that to you. But I am willing to give you whatever swear or promise you need to know that I will ensure that you’re allowed to go wherever you want as soon as you’ve hit Theed.”

Ejasa was sitting slack as Padmé finished. She seemed to be working her way through something and Padmé wished she could see her face to tell if she’d overstepped some bounds. Then again, that might not be any more help than her body language.

“Would it make it easier if we were to request sanctuary outside of the Temple? With proof of damage from the treatment?” She said after a minute.

“If you could get us concrete evidence of damage done by what happened here, then we would have legal grounds to give you that sanctuary. The Order wouldn’t have nearly as much of a leg to stand on either.”

“We have bioscans on our ship. It’s in the Temple hanger right now, but it has the physical the medidroid did on Silas a week before Geonosis and the history of what damage Force suppressants do to him. I haven’t gotten to it, but I’m sure that I could.”

“That’s exactly the kind of evidence we’d need. It’d be even better if you had some similar history for yourself and Ben.”

“All of that would be on the ship. The worst will be Silas, though. Force suppressants are-. Well. I guess you’re probably going to see.” Her shoulders curled the tiniest bit.

Padmé got a pit in her stomach.

“I’ll get to work right away. If you can’t get those scans off of your ship, I’ll try to find someone who can.” Master Jinn had already said he’d be willing to corroborate the story if they needed a witness.

“Alright.” They both stood and Padmé held back for a second before she hugged Ejasa.

The older woman hesitantly returned the hug and after a few seconds Padmé stepped back and looked into the eyes of the mask.

“This won’t stand. I won’t let them brush this off,” Padmé swore. It felt binding, durasteel locking into place.

Ejasa nodded.

They were going to get out of the Temple. One way or another.

///

Rex coming to her with the entire catalog of the Buurenaar Cabur’s infirmary memory bay had been an unexpected surprise. He hadn’t said a word about how he’d gotten it, and Shmi knew as well as she could know anything with the poison twisting its way through her veins that he’d been listening to the Force. The Jaig Eyes that had appeared on his helmet were fitting in a way that Shmi knew would feel _right_ when the Force was back with her.

Sneaking in to see Ani had become somewhat of a bi-weekly ritual. Half the time he was asleep or delirious, sunk so deep into the fever that he didn’t even know she was there. The other half of the time he was so quiet and still that it was like talking to a completely different person. She’d managed to pull enough strings that Healer Che had left his face covered, but he wasn’t given any other allowances. It’d been three weeks since they’d been put on the suppressants and he was fading. From Temple gossip that Shmi had managed to overhear, Healer Che had been trying to make someone on the Council agree to let Ani off the suppressants long enough to try and get his other injuries to heal all the way. Almost as soon as they’d put him on suppressants, his healing had slowed to a crawl no matter how much bacta they threw at the problem.

All of this to say that Shmi was having a lot of exercise in reining in her anger. Even her will was being tested by seeing both of her sons fading away in front of her.

Getting the information to Padmé had been a victory. It’d been a large enough one to tide her over until she could get the rest of her plan in place. The Council hadn’t deigned to speak with any of them since they’d made their choice. Shmi was observant enough to see a rift developing between the people that agreed with the decision and the people who looked sick at heart when they saw her. She made a note of every face she could remember. Some faint, insubstantial whisper said it was important.

She’d been chipping away at the restricted access parts of Ben and Anakin’s patient files. She wasn’t the most gifted slicer, but she was stubborn, determined, and motivated. After four weeks of suppressants, she finally managed to get to the part that determine patient movement. Ben was only moved to bathe and see Healer Zydo. Anakin was moved to bathe, for bacta tank treatments, and for a soft tissue scan every other week to check on his throat and brain. It was going to be tricky, but arranging a patient transfer would make it look legitimate enough that they could slip any guards without setting off alarms anywhere. She had to find a path that didn’t have heavy traffic, and figure out how to disguise who they were. She already had an idea for Anakin, but Ben would be more complicated.

///

Qui-Gon had made his choice. Senator Amidala had approached him to be a witness and he’d, carefully, approached Healer Che. She wasn’t blind. As good as Ejasa was, she spent enough time around the Healer’s Wing for Healer Che to know that she was planning something. The good news was that it wasn’t obvious. Healer Che was livid about her patients. She’d given an anonymous witness statement on a datastick that had been a scathing, detailed, pinpointed account of how badly the Force suppressant had been hurting Ben, Silas, and Ejasa. That datastick was now in Senator Amidala’s hands alongside what little else Qui-Gon had managed to scrape together.

What the worst part of it all was, were the huge cracks Qui-Gon saw yawning in the Order between those who thought the ruling was right, and those who didn’t. On top of the internal tension about the Abiik-Kemirs, there was the tension about the war, with half of the Temple pushing for the Order to commit to the war effort and half of the Temple insisting that it was none of their business. The same half pushing for peace was insisting that using the clones would be a violation of their mandate as Jedi. Even the Council was showing signs of the strain. When it came to the Abiik-Kemirs, the entire Healer’s Wing was with Vokara Che and had been nothing if not vocal about the importance of good patient care and adherence to Healer's Oaths. Plo Koon, who’d been put in charge of the clone’s work in the Temple, had been willfully ignoring all the evidence that any of the clones knew what Ejasa might be up to and helping her out with it. Rancisis and his entire group had all been vocal about the need for containment. Windu and Yoda had been tight lipped, but it was more than clear where they stood. And where they stood, there would always be Jedi who followed them without question. 

Qui-Gon couldn’t help but agree about the clones. The first interaction he’d had personally with the men was burned into his memory. That moment of seeing such individuality, even as they were all exactly the same as each other. Qui-Gon had been resisting going out into the field for the war effort. Ahsoka being one of the biggest reasons next to his concerns about the sentient rights of the clones. Already, padawans were on the front lines, and the reports of what they were being forced to fight against made Qui-Gon feel like weeping for the future of the Order.

When it came to the clones who were in the Temple, he was under no illusions about who they were loyal to. All of Captain Rex’s men were fiercely loyal to him. Where he led, they would follow. Commander Cody’s men were the same. And those two were heading up the biggest faction of clones in the temple. They’d been clear where their loyalties lay if someone were to look. Qui-Gon had the feeling that as soon as they’d shown Rex in particular what happened to rogue Force users, they’d lost him.

Knowing all of that, Qui-Gon couldn’t talk with Ejasa too much without drawing attention and suspicion. But he could talk to Captain Rex.

“Whatever she’s going to do, she needs to do it soon. The Council has to make some sort of move. The divide is getting too wide for them to ignore it for much longer, and I can almost guarantee that they’re going to do something to one of them.”

The Captain was good. The shock was clear but he kept moving like nothing had happened.

Qui-Gon could only hope that when the fallout began, he’d be able to cover enough for the three to make it out.

///

It was too soon. Shmi’d figured out the patient transfer logs, her own disguise, and how to get to both Ben and Anakin. But she didn’t know how she was going to disguise Ben or move Anakin without taking one of the gurneys. Neither of them were up to the task of carrying him with the suppressant being in their systems as long as it had. Saving grace for a disguise for Ben came in the form of one Commander Cody. Armor left piece by piece in the little nook she’d been slicing out of.

The night of the transfer she’d put in the system, Shmi snuck down to the Healer’s Wing, darting from shadow to shadow despite the protests of her muscles. Grim determination flooded every fiber of her being. There was nothing for it but to carry Ani and hope that she and Ben wouldn’t drop him on the way to the hanger. The route wasn’t perfect, but it was the shortest, and it would have to do.

She went to Ben first. The transfer had him going for a brain scan. Which meant waiting. Ben sat quietly in the private waiting room, gaze vacant until he saw her. He flicked his eyes to the top of the door and she paused. Time to see if the alterations she’d made were working. She motioned for him to come over. He shot another worried look at the top of the door before he crept over, training still compensating for the lack of the Force. Nobody came or said anything.

“Healer Che is on our side,” he whispered as soon as he got the armor she’d brought for him on.

That was good. Healers were the lynchpins of everything.

“Ani?” He asked. She nodded and led the way towards where Anakin’s transfer put him: on hold for a soft tissue scan.

They arrived to find Rex guarding the bed.

“You don’t have to do this Rex,” she said. As much as he’d helped up to this point, to ask him to do this made her no better than the Republic or the Jedi.

“With respect, sir. I do. If this is what they do to people who aren’t Jedi, then my brothers are at risk. I can’t stand by and let them be destroyed. The best chance they have is if someone can get them out; and that means having someone ready on the outside. I’ll follow your lead, sir.”

Shmi nodded and moved towards Anakin.

“I’m sorry, Sen'ika.” She took off the mask they’d let him keep. His face underneath was gaunt and flushed with fever. He was burning to the touch. Rex came over and picked him up, supporting his neck and keeping his arm braced in the same position.

Anakin didn’t even stir.

They walked slowly, Shmi tucked inside Jedi robes, Ben walking in front of Rex and Anakin in his borrowed trooped armor. Rex guided them, following Shmi’s route and making them hide whenever he sensed someone coming. A fierce pride swept Shmi at how much he’d learned on his own. No guide but what he’d learned in that week and a half, and he was already so in tune with the Force in his surroundings. It was an honor to witness.

He led them true, right to the hanger without a single encounter.

All of the clones guarding their ship were Cody’s men. And they were mysteriously absent.

Getting on board the Buurenaar Cabur felt like coming home, the inside warm and welcoming, even without feeling the remnants of their Force presences coating the ship. The lights came on and Ben ran took Anakin from Rex to get him to the infirmary. Rex looked around, and Shmi felt the ghosts of him absorbing the feeling of the Force inside their little home.

She tossed the robe on one of the chairs in the common room and got to the cockpit as fast as she could. Time was of the essence. The security code Anakin had managed to get her had yielded clearance codes for Jedi vessels taking off from Coruscant. She plugged those in alongside the fastest route to the Corellian Run as quick as she could manage. She would’ve liked to take a random path that would throw off anybody following them, but Anakin couldn’t afford that. And if she was being honest, Shmi knew that she, Ben, and Rex couldn’t afford that either.

The ship lifted off as smoothly as ever and as they climbed higher out of Coruscant’s atmosphere Shmi’s shoulders relaxed. They may not quite be free yet, but they were out.

///

The resulting fallout from the Abiik-Kemirs’s escape was, in a word, legendary. Healer Che had put on the most dramatic display of ‘I have no idea how this could’ve happened’ Qui-Gon had ever seen. Every single one of Rex’s brothers closed ranks and pretended that he was dead or missing and they didn’t care which. It would’ve been convincing if Qui-Gon hadn’t seen the grim satisfaction and pride on Cody’s face when the report had been made. Half of the Order silently praised Senator Amidala and Queen Jamillia for their daring and half of them were calling for action to be taken against both of them for interfering with Jedi affairs. It was public record that Naboo had taken in refugees and given them political and religious sanctuary, and there was very little doubt in the Order about who those refugees were.

Qui-Gon had been very careful to keep his part in the escape as far away from Ahsoka as possible. With Healer Che’s statement (however anonymously it had been made) combined with the medical records, it was all damning enough that his testimony hadn’t been necessary. So his place in the Order was safe, suspicion notwithstanding. As he sat across from Ahsoka, trying to sink into meditation, he was distracted by concern for her. He knew Plo or Shaak would be willing to take her on if something happened to him. He wasn’t worried about her being thrown out. But the level of suspicion for him had already been hard on her, and it was only the beginning. The more disturbing part, the part that kept him from concentrating, was the question of what kind of Order was Ahsoka going to be knighted into? She was a bright, passionate padawan and until this whole mess had begun, he would’ve said she had a bright future as a Jedi Knight (eventually Master if she continued).

Sitting in the aftermath of it, seeing her meditate, and remembering how badly she’d been hurt by the whole ordeal, seeing the fallout of it in her, that future looked grim. Her potential hadn’t changed, and she’d proven how capable she was. But people in the Order had shown their colors. They were all dissonant and at odds with each other. That the Force grew more cloudy and hard to interpret by the day didn’t help matters.

In public, the Order was presenting a united front. There were all in for the war effort as the Republic’s staunch defenders. They were all for using the clones. They were all on the same page. Qui-Gon could feel the fractures in their foundations spreading far and wide with every decision being made. This infighting couldn’t stand. But nobody was going to be open about their dissent. Except, maybe, in the Council Chambers. But there were so few people to represent the other side that their part almost didn’t factor into the decisions at all. Plo was there, and so was Shaak. Kit Fisto had been promoted to the rank of Master and given a seat. He had been against using the clones without checking to see if Kamino had done the same thing to them as they did to Ben. He had also been against imprisoning the Abiik-Kemirs. His being on the Council didn’t make Qui-Gon feel any better about the potential future.

For another thing, Qui-Gon had been told in no uncertain terms that he was to be put onto the front lines in the Outer Rim because of his history with the area. Ahsoka was going to be sent with him. And that, more than anything, was what scared him.

How had the Order fallen so far?

///

Ben sat next to Anakin’s bed, taking over while Shmi was taking care of herself. Anakin hadn’t woken up yet. To be fair, it’d taken about two days for the Force suppressant to flush out of their systems and another day for them to regain their balance. According to the medidroid, he’d had a stronger dose than Ben and Shmi. It made sense. It was a smart policy really. Except for how dead Anakin looked. The droid said he should be waking up any time, but for now there wasn’t any sign he was going to. His presence was coming back, slowly, the familiar Dark blended star coming back into existence. It was as good a sign as any, Ben supposed.

He was so deep in his own thoughts that he almost missed the first twitch. His eyes snapped to Anakin’s face and he saw what they’d been hoping to see for days. His eyes moved, a tiny wince, a sudden deep breath, and his eyes opened the smallest crack. He made a tiny noise and Ben jumped to turn down the light and grab water. Anakin blinked hard a few times before his eyes opened all the way. He didn’t even try to disguise his eyes looking at the Force as he woke up or say a single word. He just reached out. A new line of connection, a new line of trust.

And Ben cried as he gave Anakin the water. He cried when Shmi came in and started crying, holding Anakin close in her arms. He cried into his brother’s shoulder as he leaned on him and felt along the new foundations of a bond. He cried as he found the beginnings of a bond Shmi had opened with Rex. For once, not all of the tears were guilt or suffering; and it was the best feeling Ben had since he’d woken up in that damned Healer’s Wing.

///

Sidious couldn’t be more pleased with everything. The Jedi Order was practically self destructing already, and he’d hardly had to do anything! Naboo was at odds with the Order as well, which was always good for him. Qui-Gon Jinn was being sent to the front lines where Sidious could have Grievous or Tyranus get rid of him any time he made too big of a nuisance of himself. The clones had been fully integrated into the GAR alongside the Jedi. The war was raging across the galaxy, which meant more misery being dumped into the Force which would weaken the Jedi even further. It was all going according to plan. Tyranus’s misstep with Hibir had turned out to be a boon.

But the best part was that huge presence that the Jedi had poisoned. It had come back, weak, but gaining strength all the time. There was already Darkness in that star. When Sidious found whoever it was, it would be easy to corrupt them all the way. Simple. He already knew who they could be as well. All he had to do was wait, and all that power would be his. All the rage, all the pain, all the suspicion.

Corrupting them would be _delightful_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mando’a Translation
> 
> Ni Kyr’tayl Gai Sa’ad-I know your name as my child, a Mandalorian adoption vow.  
> The Doctor Who quote about anger in the Planet of the Ood episode applies really well to Shmi: “And then there was patience.” Padmé Amidala is a woman of action and she can and will still eat the Council. Clan Skywalker and Rex are on their way into the Clone Wars with Padmé, Qui-Gon, and Ahsoka. This has been a wild ride. I’ve written more over the course of posting this fic in the past week than I have in a few months. It’s been so great getting into a project again. I wanted to thank everyone for the wonderful comments you’ve been leaving. I’m grateful for every single one; and it’s been so cool seeing your theories and reactions as the fic came out. I’m planning on expanding this into the Clone Wars. Some arcs will stay and some won't. But the Clones will have a major part (of course). I’m not going to update as often on the next one. I want to make sure that it gets finished, and if I try to keep up this pace of writing, I’ll burn out of writing fuel before I can make it. 
> 
> Thank you so much for reading this!

**Author's Note:**

> Mando’a Translations:
> 
> Vod-Brother/Sibling  
> Buir-Parent  
> Ori’vod-Older Brother/Sibling  
> Haar’chak-Damn it  
> Aliit-Family  
> Pitat’ika-Loosely translates to Little Rain  
> Vod’ika-Little Brother/Little Sibling  
> Aliit ori’shya tal’din-Mandalorian saying Family is More Than Blood  
> Alor-Leader  
> Cabur-Guardian
> 
> Special thanks to Fialleril for any and all Tatooine Slave Culture stuff referenced as well as the basis behind Anakin’s Mando’a nickname. https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fialleril/pseuds/Fialleril
> 
> Thanks to Spongeyllama for the inspiration for this fic.
> 
> I am a huge sucker for Post Winter Soldier family fluff fics. I am also a huge sucker for Anakin Skywalker Doesn’t Murder Everyone fics. After reading Asylum by Spongyllama, I got inspired. What would Attack of the Clones look like if Obi-Wan had gotten taken and Winter Soldiered by Sidious, somehow escaped, and was discovered by a certain Skywalker family on Tatooine? It was complete crack, of course. But then my hand slipped and this came out. This is…probably total nonsense. Just a little bit of a heads up: Obi-Wan goes by Ben in this fic, and Shmi and Anakin are Ejasa and Silas respectively when they’re around People Whomst Are Not Family. I’m sorry if the Mando’a or any of the Mandalorian stuff is wrong. I’m not at all familiar with Legends and only really know Clone Wars, the movies, and The Mandalorian. Please let me know if you see any glaring mistakes and I’ll do my best to fix them.


End file.
